Broken
by DTmarley
Summary: Itachi always wanted to leave home. He finally gets the chance to go college away from his house and he takes the opportunity thinking that somehow he could live before he is forced into a life of his father's choosing. (Modern AU, TRIGGER WARNINGS: violence, blood, physical abuse, emotional abuse, verbal abuse, vomiting, death scenes)
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter List**_

The First Day

Broken Statues and Oreo Cookies

Orochimaru Receives a Warning

A Halloween Scare

Bruises are Hard to Hide

A Visit From a Monster

Panic and Snowflakes

Drifting Away

No Longer an Older Brother

 _The First Day_

He took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the science building. He had finally made it to college after years of studying and useless assignments, he had made it. He stepped into the building and took in what he saw: the shiny floors, evenly spaced lights hanging from the ceiling, a reception desk, a small coffee shop, and most importantly the other students. There were not many others so early in the morning and the ones that were there looked half asleep, all except one: a smaller guy with unnaturally pale skin and long stringy black hair. There was something about this guy that was off-putting, like he was looking for trouble.

Itachi sighed and walked towards a hallway to find his class, there were a lot of different kinds of people out in the world and he was good at avoiding most of them. His first class was biology, honestly 8 AM was far too early for something so boring and technical. He found the room, it was empty and he breathed a sigh of relief. He slid into the middle seat in the front row and pulled out his phone.

At almost the exact same moment his phone went off with a text message, it was from his little brother Sasuke, "Good luck with your first day big brother!" Itachi smiled, the hardest part of going to school away from home was having leave Sasuke right when he was starting middle school.

The door flew open making Itachi jump. One of the tired-looking students stomped to the back of the room, pulled out a laptop, threw his bag on the floor, and plopped himself into a desk in the back corner. The kid had longish gray hair and was wearing a weird circular necklace with a triangle on it. Another person Itachi felt he had to avoid.

The door opened again and more students started filing in and taking seats around the room. Itachi looked back at his phone and started to reply to Sasuke when someone dropped their bag onto the desk next to his and sat down. Itachi glanced over sideways and let out a slow quiet sigh, of course it was that pale guy. They made eye contact briefly and the pale guy gave a slight nod then started taking a notebook and pens out of his bag.

Itachi narrowed his eyes and then started to do the same, but when he opened his notebook something fell out and onto the floor under the pale guy's desk. He looked at it lying there, it was a picture flipped upside down with some words on the back. Itachi desperately wanted to see what it was and figure out how it had gotten into his books. He wanted so badly to reach over and pick it up, but he also didn't want the pale guy's attention. He slowly opened his notebook and pretended he didn't notice the picture on the ground.

"I think you dropped this." A voice came out of nowhere making Itachi jump. He looked over to see the pale guy holding out the picture to him. Itachi looked at it, he could see now that it was a picture of him and Sasuke at the beach from over the summer. "Is that your little brother?" the pale guy asked.

"Yeah… thanks." Itachi replied slowly and took the picture back. He flipped it over and read the messy words scrawled on the back of it. He half smiled, he was definitely going to miss Sasuke.

"I'm Orochimaru, by the way, Nice to meet you!" Itachi turned to look at him: he was smiling with his head tilted to the side, the long stringy hair had fallen back far enough so that Itachi could see that he had his ears pierced. He didn't look so creepy and odd from close up.

"Itachi." Itachi replied and held out his hand. Orochimaru looked confused for a second then shook hands with him. As he reached over his sleeve pulled up slightly and Itachi could see a snake head tattooed on Orochimaru's arm. Itachi didn't really know what to say next, so he just stared silently in Orochimaru's direction.

"Are you a biology major?" Orochimaru asked, clearly uncomfortable with the awkward silence.

"No, philosophy. I'm just trying to get some of my gen-ed classes out of the way."

"Oh," Orochimaru looked slightly upset by this, "So, why philosophy? That's kind of a useless field."

Itachi tensed his muscles. He clenched his teeth and resisted every urge to hit Orochimaru. He took a deep breath, relaxed, and replied, "Because I would rather be happy studying something I enjoy than be miserable studying something that I have no interest in. as far as after school is concerned, I already know what I am doing and all it requires is a degree of higher education."

"That's cool that you already know what you're doing!" Orochimaru seemed to have entirely missed the anger he caused by his question.

At that moment the door opened and a short girl entered, arms piled high with folders, papers, and a laptop. She walked to the front of the room and spread her stuff all over a long table. When she had finished this, she stood up and straightened her large glasses. "Hello! Welcome to biology 101 section 01, I am Dr. Ramona and I will be teaching this class."

Itachi almost choked, she looked like she was their age! How was this even possible? Itachi glanced over at Orochimaru about to remark on this, but Orochimaru just sat there with his mouth slightly open staring at the professor like she was the most incredible thing he had ever seen.

There was a snort from the back of the room, "you're kidding, right?" It was the kid with longish gray hair, "I didn't come here just to learn from some girl barely older than me."

Dr. Ramona let out a sigh and started up a PowerPoint presentation. "As I said, I am Dr. Ramona and I have been teaching for five years now. I graduated from this university when I was 12 with a bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry, received a Master's degree in genetics at 14, then received a doctorate degree for my research work in studying how genetic mutations are passed through generations. Yes, I am only slightly older than you, however, my class is not easy and you are free to drop it any time you wish," she paused and looked at the attendance list, "Hidan?"

Hidan did not reply and leaned back in his desk. He went back to looking at stuff on his laptop and it seemed like he didn't want to argue anymore.

The rest of the class went by in a whirlwind as Dr. Ramona sped through the first section of material on a basic introduction to biology. Itachi barely had time to think about anything aside from writing as fast as he possibly could. He was glad the class was only an hour long, if it had been any longer his hand might have fallen off from writing so much. Orochimaru seemed to be in the same state as he furiously scribbled down vocab words and examples and drew the diagrams that were on the board. However, he didn't look miserable, he looked elated and energetic. There is definitely something weird about him, Itachi thought.

"You have to read the first chapter for next class, don't even think that you can pass this class without doing the reading, some have tried and they all failed." Dr. Ramona calmly started putting her papers back into folders and packing up her laptop.

The class just sat there in shock. This was not something that they had expected to hear at 8 in the morning from a freshman level intro class. No one moved or said anything, they all just stared at their professor who was getting ready to leave. "Oh yeah, this class has a lab component, our lab time is Friday nights from 6-9 pm." Dr. Ramona added as she reached the door, "see you next class!" she smiled and waved then left the room of silent shocked students.

Slowly the shock seemed to slip away from the half-asleep group of students. There was a lot of muttering and cursing around the room as all the students packed up their stuff and got ready to leave. Itachi just silently dropped his notebook back into his bag and got up to go. He was about to walk away when he realized that he almost forgot the picture from Sasuke, he picked up off his desk and sighed, college was different from anything else he had ever done. Itachi got up and followed some other students out the door and down the hall.

"Itachi! Wait up!"

Itachi stopped. He knew immediately who it was and he almost kept walking and pretended not to hear it, but he would have felt guilty. He let out a resigned sigh and stopped in the middle of the hallway. Orochimaru ran up to him, he hadn't even put all his papers back into his bag and stood there clutching loose papers and holding his pen in his teeth.

"Do you have a class after this?" Orochimaru asked.

"Yeah, I have two more classes today then I'm done." Itachi replied, hoping that this would discourage Orochimaru from following him anywhere.

"Oh, nice! So do I!"

This caught Itachi off guard, he would have to try to sound busier even if he had nothing going on. This guy may not be as creepy as his first impression, but Itachi still didn't want to be making friends with anyone, it just wasn't something he did. "Oh…. Ok, maybe I'll see you around then." Itachi tried to brush off Orochimaru with a vague response.

"I have art history, I really didn't want to take it, but I guess it's required." Orochimaru continued walking next to Itachi matching his stride perfectly.

Itachi flinched, that was the exact class he had next. He wouldn't be avoiding Orochimaru very much apparently. He turned to say something about the importance of studying art but stopped before he got any words out, there was something… different about Orochimaru's eyes. And it wasn't the fact that he appeared to be wearing purple eye shadow, his pupils were vertical slits, like a snake's. Itachi blinked, maybe he was seeing things, and it was still pretty early in the morning. He checked again, they were the same.

"Itachi? Is everything ok?" Orochimaru was just staring at him, looking very confused.

Itachi snapped back to reality, "Yeah, I just… you… I… we have the same class next I think." Itachi felt his face flushing, lying on the spot was something he wasn't very good at doing. He looked away quickly and hoped that Orochimaru hadn't noticed.

Orochimaru was quiet for a few seconds, he knew exactly why Itachi was acting odd. Everyone did, it didn't matter if he was nice or not. He sighed, maybe this guy was no different from anyone else. "I think the arts building is this way." He said quietly, and they walked towards their next class in silence.

The rest of the morning they had class together and walked to class together and even ate lunch together. It was awkward though, there seemed to be an unspoken agreement that neither of them wanted to say anything. Itachi wasn't sure why this awkwardness had started, all he knew was that he must have said something wrong. This was why he didn't want friends, he always seemed to mess it up somehow, he couldn't help it if he saw more than other people; it was just the way he was born.

Itachi had finally gotten some time apart from Orochimaru and was heading back to his dorm to try and figure out everything that had happened that morning. It had been an overwhelming day between frantic note taking, having syllabi shoved in his face, and being around Orochimaru. He was glad he was going to be getting some alone time. He was one of the few lucky students who had been placed into a double dorm but his roommate had never showed up. He was glad about the extra space and having privacy. He stepped into his room and let out a deep breath, alone at last. He paused, something was wrong. Something was out of place.

There was movement in the corner, it slid across the carpet along the wall. It was a thin green rope, or at least it looked like one, only about a foot long. It was a snake. Why the hell was a snake in his room? was this some kind of joke? A prank from the older students? Itachi scowled and walked across the room and picked up the snake carefully, it squirmed a little but then relaxed and started to slither around his hand. He stared at it and smiled slightly, it may be a snake but it did have a cute face.

All of a sudden there was a loud knock at the door, and Itachi felt a slight panic, pets were not allowed in the dorms and now he had a snake casually wrapping itself around his hand. He put his hand behind his back and slowly cracked the door open. Orochimaru was standing there looking very distraught, almost like he had been crying.

"…yes?" Itachi asked, a little nervous he had hurt Orochimaru's feelings earlier and that now he would have to listen to an emotional rant from someone he barely knew.

"um, I was wondering if you could help me look for something… can I come in, I can't really… uh… talk about it where the RA can hear…" he looked up at Itachi, his eyes were wide and puffy and he sniffled a little.

Itachi sighed, then remembered the small snake that was still in his hand, he felt like he should keep it hidden, who knows what this guy might do if he found out that there was an illegal pet in the room. So he backed up and opened the door and let Orochimaru in while keeping his hand behind his back.

Orochimaru walked in cautiously, his eyes scanning the walls and book cases, then dropped to the floor and looked under the bed. This caught Itachi off guard and he just stood there looking slightly annoyed.

"Whatever you're looking for, I don't have it. Why would I take something from your room?" Itachi felt like he had to defend himself somehow and he could feel his temper rising quickly.

"Oh no! Nobody stole anything, something got out and now I can't find it and its lost and scared. I need to find it before it figures out how to leave the building and I never see it again!" Orochimaru sounded frantic and he started to move Itachi's desk away from the wall causing a stack of textbooks to fall to the floor and a cascade of photographs fell out of them.

Itachi just stared at the mess on his floor, half annoyed that Orochimaru was going through his stuff and half perplexed as to how so many pictures had been tucked between the pages of his textbooks without him noticing. "Hold on! Just tell me what you're looking for and I'll help, just stop tearing my room apart!"

"It's…. A s-s-snake…" Orochimaru stuttered, and he looked very embarrassed. "I know I can't have pets, but I couldn't leave it with my uncle, he doesn't know how to take care of her."

Itachi was hit with a sudden realization. "Oh, is this it?" he showed Orochimaru the small grass snake that was calmly resting on his hand, clearly enjoying itself. "It was in my room when I got back from class."

"Karin! You're safe! Oh thanks goodness!" Orochimaru ran over and very carefully picked up the snake and it happily started slithering around. He brought it up to his face and it gently licked the tip of his nose. "I thought I lost you, Karin. I'm so glad I found you!" Then he looked up at Itachi, and squinted, "She usually hates people, she tries to bite them even though she can't do much."

Itachi shrugged, "it….she… seemed pretty friendly." He didn't really want to tell Orochimaru that he was thinking of keeping the snake, for fear that Orochimaru might think that he was as obsessed with snakes as he was. "Do you know how she got out?"

"I must have forgotten to lock the lid down, she has a knack for opening things that aren't secured shut. She's so smart." He smiled at the snake like a proud father. "of course, I'll have to keep her more hidden so my roommate doesn't find her, he's a bit nosy, I already found him going through my stuff once."

Itachi nodded and started to pick up all the books that were now scattered across his floor. Orochimaru sure knew how to make a mess. He sighed and then started gathering all the pictures up, he guessed that Sasuke had something to do this. He smiled to himself, forgetting that Orochimaru was still in the room.

"You miss your little brother a lot don't you?"

Itachi was startled by the sudden comment, especially at the accuracy of it. "Yeah, I guess. He's pretty young but we used to hang out a lot." He didn't think that any of this was Orochimaru's business, and he especially hated telling people things that he considered personal.

"I wish I had siblings, but it's always just been me and my uncle." Orochimaru looked a little sad and he reached down and picked up one of the pictures. He stared at it a long time like he was trying very hard not to think about something. "Are those your parents?" he asked.

Itachi hesitated, he wanted to take the picture back but he felt kind of bad so he let Orochimaru hold it. "Yeah, that's from Sasuke's birthday last year." Itachi looked at the picture in Orochimaru's hands, remembering the day. It had started out so well. But of course, like most days, it had been ruined. The picture had been taken right before everything had gotten bad. They both stood in silence for a minute, both with their own thoughts.

Suddenly Orochimaru let the picture drop back to the floor and walked quickly to the door. He paused at the entrance, "thanks for finding Karin for me" he said in a quiet voice. And then he left and went back down the hall.

Itachi sighed and picked up the picture. It was odd, he could have sworn that he heard Orochimaru's voice crack a little bit when he was leaving. It could have just been his imagination, but Orochimaru seemed very sad. Even when he had been smiling back in biology, there had been something very sad underneath.

Orochimaru was a very odd person, he was pale and creepy looking, but seemed to be more friendly than most of the other people on campus. He also seemed to be unusually obsessed with snakes. And then of course, there was his eyes. His slanted eyes that had a large green irises and vertical slits for pupils, like he was part snake himself. It didn't really hide it the way he surrounded his eyes with purple eye shadow, but maybe he didn't want to hide it.

Itachi looked in the mirror that was inside his closet door. He looked at his face. The long straight lines that ran from the inner corner of his eyes diagonally to the center of his cheeks stared back at him. Not many people knew how those lines had gotten there, but it was a day he would never forget. He looked a little higher, he stared at his red eyes, the black symbols on the iris stared back at him. He squeezed his eyes shut, whenever this happened his eyes burned and stung. He fell to his knees clutching his face, he wanted to scream but that would attract attention. The pain was unbearable, the stinging felt like it was boring into his brain through his optic nerve. He couldn't handle it anymore and let out a very quiet yell and started hyperventilating, sweat started pouring down his face. He lay curled up on the floor with his hands clawing his at his eyes.

Orochimaru made it back to his room before the waterfall of tears started. He hated how much he cried. It was a side effect of his strange eyes, for some reason he would get slightly sad and then they would start tearing up. He put Karin back in her Aquarium that he kept in the bottom of his closet, then looked at himself in the mirror. He grabbed the side of the door and glared at himself. Why, why did he have to look this way? He gripped the door tighter and felt the wood cracking under the pressure. The sound made him feel better. Then he let go of the door and stepped back panting, he had to get himself under control. It didn't matter what people thought, right? He wasn't convinced. He screamed and punched the mirror, the glass shattering and cracking. He looked into the mirror again and saw his eyes multiply over the cracked surface. He backed away slowly and kept backing up until his back hit the wall, then he slid down and stared absently at the broken mirror. He rested his head on his arm and closed his eyes trying to imagine away what he had done. His right hand fell limp at his side, and blood starting to ooze out of cuts on his knuckles.

Orochimaru opened his eyes. It was dark in the empty dorm room, how long had he been asleep for? It was dark outside the window and the only light came in from under the door to the hallway. He looked up and saw the broken mirror, he sighed and got up and closed the closet door. He was lucky that his roommate hadn't come in and seen him like this. He felt hunger gnawing at his insides and realized that he hadn't eaten since noon. At least I have a meal plan, he thought.

He pulled on a jacket and a baseball hat and headed out of his dorm and down the stairs to leave the building. As he stepped outside it started to drizzle slightly. He sighed and let a small smile play at the corners of his mouth, there was nothing more comforting and cleansing than rain even if it was mostly fog. He walked slowly to the dining hall, enjoying every step and slowly all the thoughts of what had happened earlier slipped from his memory and by the time he made it to the door of the dining hall he was feeling much more like himself.

He walked inside the building and took in the warm glow of the lights and the smells of food, it felt very pleasant. After he got his dinner he walked into the seating area and started to look for a place to sit, there was a lot of seats by the windows that looked promising so he started walking in that direction. As he walked over he noticed a familiar figure sitting alone at a table facing out of the windows. Orochimaru was slightly relieved that he had found someone he knew and he started to walk over to say hello. But something was wrong. As he got closer he could see that Itachi was trying his best to cover his eyes and keeping them closed as much as possible.

"I-I-Itachi?" Orochimaru started, inwardly cursing himself for stuttering. "Would you mind if I sat here?" he continued quietly, he sensed that something had happened since he had found Karin in Itachi's room.

"….sure…" Itachi replied and started to scoot over but remained facing the window and didn't look at Orochimaru directly.

"Thanks," he smiled, trying to bring up the atmosphere. "The food looks good, I remember really liking it during my tour of campus. What do you think?"

Itachi didn't respond for a long time, "its ok I guess." then he slowly took a sip of his drink.

"Drinking coffee at night?" Orochimaru asked, attempting to be cheerful like he hadn't noticed anything was wrong.

"Tea, herbal, Chamomile." Itachi replied almost automatically.

Orochimaru couldn't stand it anymore, he hated seeing people upset. Even if Itachi was a private person he wouldn't let him lock everything away, especially if something was not physically alright. "Itachi. Are you ok?" He asked in a stern quiet voice.

Itachi was quiet for a while, and Orochimaru was starting to think that he had done the wrong thing and was about to leave the table. "I've been better, but it's nothing that hasn't happened before." Itachi said slowly, then turned to look Orochimaru full in face.

Orochimaru did not expect to see what he saw: around Itachi's eyes was red and swollen and there were small cuts across the bridge of his nose and at the corners of his eyes. It looked like Itachi had been crying or that he had wanted to pull his eyes out his own head. Orochimaru stared into Itachi's large black eyes, there was something more here, something not normal deep inside.

Itachi smiled a little, "what happened to your hand? Fall walking down the hallway?"

Orochimaru had completely forgotten about his bleeding hand. He looked down surprised and saw his hand was covered in dried blood and bruises were starting to form around his knuckles. "Oh, I didn't notice that…" he said, and slid his hand under the table.

"From the looks of it you must have punched something pretty hard." Itachi commented, taking a bite of dinner.

"The mirror had it coming." Orochimaru laughed and started to eat his food.

Itachi looked up at this and paused, "you should be more careful, next time wrap your hand before you hit something and you won't have as many cuts." Then he continued to eat calmly. There was something strangely comforting about not being the only one who had had a rough first day of class, it almost felt as if he had someone to look after. Like having a little brother again.

Orochimaru smiled at this, "I'll make sure to do that next time." It was weird, somehow Orochimaru felt that Itachi had accepted him. He wasn't sure when it had happened, but somewhere between finding the snake and now, something had changed and he didn't feel alone for the first time in a long time.

They both sat silently eating their food, this time there was no awkward silence, just a calm companionable quiet. After they finished they both walked back to the dorms and went their separate ways. Itachi returned to his room and started doing some reading then went to sleep shortly after. Orochimaru walked into his room, his roommate was playing video games so he decided to take a shower before doing his biology reading. He was too awake to sleep and there was a lot to learn at this new place. He came back from his shower and opened up the textbook to the chapter on ocular genetic mutations and started to read. There was a lot to find out about Itachi.

 _Broken Statues and Oreo Cookies_

Orochimaru let out an aggravated sigh and slammed his face onto his textbook. There had been one week of classes and they were already studying for a major exam, as much as he loved biology this class was going to be the death of him. He groaned and went back to scribbling notes about cellular respiration. "Do you know the answer to the third question?"

Itachi looked up from his stack of papers, his long hair pulled back in a high bun, stray hairs were sticking out everywhere and he was holding a pen in his mouth. Itachi shook his head no.

They had been camped out in the library for three hours now, spending their Saturday trying to learn everything there was to know about the first chapter of the biology textbook instead of being outside in the nice weather. They were both frazzled and exhausted, Orochimaru's hair was half up and half down, the top half tied into a messy knot on the back of his head. They had taken over a back corner of the top floor of the library, electing to sit between shelves of books about biology instead of using the study room. There was almost no one on the floor so they could talk and study out loud and not be bothered. Or at least they thought.

There was a loud crash from the other side of the floor followed by a long string of cursing and shouting. Curious about the sudden uproar, Itachi and Orochimaru crawled to the end of the aisle and peeked around the corner. Hidan was standing there next to a pedestal that had once had a statue on it. The statue was currently broken in many pieces and lying all over the floor. Hidan was looking around frantically standing next to the mess.

He caught sight of Itachi and Orochimaru and started walking quickly in their direction. They stared at him as he got closer and closer to where they were studying. They scrambled back to their pile of books and papers and hoped that if they looked busy enough Hidan wouldn't want to join them. This was an incorrect assumption. Hidan walked up and threw his skateboard on the ground and sat down, leaning against a shelf.

"You guys studying for the test already?" Hidan smirked, "we've been studying the material all week, it's not that hard."

"It can't hurt to solidify the information in your memory, make sure you know what you need to for the exam." Orochimaru replied, flipping through the textbook in a vain attempt to find the answer to question three.

Itachi said nothing and tried to ignore Hidan sitting there. He didn't need another person to talk to, especially when he had to focus on studying. Hidan opened his bag and pulled out a pack of Oreos, "you need a study snack at least? Think of it as a 'we definitely didn't see you break anything' gift of peace." And he tossed the bag into the middle of the mess of papers.

Itachi and Orochimaru both looked up at the same time. They stared at the unopened pack of Oreos, then silently came to the agreement that this may be a good time for a study break. When Oreos were in the mix, no work was going to get done. Itachi sighed and put down his notebook then reached for the pack of cookies.

"Hidan, right?" Itachi asked, he didn't really want to start a conversation, but Oreos.

"Yeah, you're Itachi, I've seen you around. Didn't look like this much of a study bug from far away."

Itachi tensed, "well, I just actually care if my grades are good."

Hidan laughed, "my grades are good, don't know how but I ended up with great memory, I almost never study for anything."

"Ugh," Orochimaru made a disgusted noise, "I hate those kind of people, it's just not fair."

Hidan smiled and laughed even more, "hear that all the time, never bothered me in the past, won't start any time soon." He helped himself to an Oreo, "either of you guys like to skate?"

Itachi and Orochimaru stared at each other. Itachi started to say something but Orochimaru cut him off, "Nope, never have never will." He grabbed a stack of five Oreos, "kind of dumb, you could get hurt so easily."

"Not if you put enough time into it." Hidan shrugged but didn't bring it up again.

Everyone was quiet until the Oreos were gone, then Hidan stood up and picked up his board and his backpack, "well, I think I'm safe now. Nice chilling with you guys, good luck studying." And then he held out his hand for a fist bump. Itachi slowly fist bumped him, but Orochimaru didn't even look up from his textbook. Hidan shrugged, then walked away.

"Ugh" Orochimaru slammed his face into his textbook again. "We're never going to be done this review!"

"Well, we are close to finishing, we just need question three and we can go over it later if you want to take a break." Itachi was talking and writing at the same time.

"We need to do something, I hate being trapped inside all day."

"We could study outside?" Itachi was half joking, but he also was very concerned about the possibility of failing the class.

Orochimaru let out a tired sigh, he loved biology but he had his limits. He spent his days studying biology for class and keeping up with note taking and readings, and at night he was poring over articles and journals about hereditary ocular mutations. He did this research at night mostly because he couldn't sleep due to his roommate playing video games all night. He looked over at Itachi, what kind of eyes did he have?

"Orochimaru? Everything ok?" Itachi looked up and caught Orochimaru staring at him, this was an odd behavior and it certainly didn't go unnoticed. The more they studied together and hung out the more he seemed to be doing it. He was also looking more and more tired, the dark circles under his eyes seemed to be growing with every passing day.

Orochimaru snapped back to reality. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired of studying is all." He smiled and tried to laugh it off.

"You know, you've been looking more and more tired all the time, aren't you sleeping well?" Itachi was slightly concerned, he knew what lack of sleep could do to someone's body and psyche.

"Well…not really." Orochimaru replied. "My roommate does nothing but play video games at all hours of the day." He smiled so he could try and brush it off.

Itachi sighed, "Have you tried to talk to him about it yet?"

"Once I tried, but he wasn't able to pause the game…"

Itachi was quiet for a minute, he knew what he should say but he was loathe to do it. He needed his private space and having orochimaru around constantly was tiring. He never knew when he would have another episode and he especially didn't want Orochimaru to know about his eyes. No one knew except his family because they were the same. "If you need a new room to stay in, I have an extra bed." The minute he said it he regretted it, goodbye having any sort of sanity.

Orochimaru just stared back with wide snake eyes, did Itachi just offer him a new room? Did that mean they were friends? Why would he do this? Itachi had always been so cold and closed off, why would he offer? Orochimaru didn't know how to respond, "I-I-I w-would really a-a-appreciate that." He stuttered. "Karin likes you, so I don't think she would mind sharing a room with you."

Of all the things Itachi expected to hear, acceptance from Orochimaru's pet snake was not what came to mind. Even though he was slightly taken aback by this response he smiled, "maybe while we take a study break we can move your stuff over?" he was starting to regret it less. After all, hanging out with orochimaru reminded him of Sasuke and being able to take care of a little sibling.

While he was thinking about this he heard his phone go off, and it wasn't his normal ringtone, it was the warning ringtone. His smile faded and he clenched his teeth. He reached into his bag and pulled out his phone, he let it ring a few more times hoping that it would stop. Then he sighed with acceptance and answered, "Hello?"

Orochimaru noticed the sudden change in mood and watched curiously as he started packing up their study materials, when he was picking up Itachi's books another picture of Itachi's family fell out. Orochimaru looked up and saw Itachi's back was turned, so he slipped the picture into his own bag and then continued to clean up.

"Yes, I am aware." Itachi's voice was cold and short. He listened to the voice on the other end of the phone for a long time, and then his face turned red with rage, "No! Let him live as a kid! He is only in the fifth grade! If I find out that you started teaching him anything I am coming home and bringing Sasuke back with me!" Itachi was shouting into the phone now, and he knew he was dangerously close to triggering another episode. There was another long pause as Itachi listened to the voice again and his face went pale. "Yes sir." He said and hung up the phone.

Orochimaru, who had been watching the whole time, stood up and handed Itachi his bag. Itachi took it and then turned to leave without acknowledging Orochimaru. His face was incredibly pale and something was different; he started walking away quickly, then started running through the rows of shelves until he reached the bathroom. Orochimaru had been caught off guard and had to sprint to try and keep up with Itachi and he made it to the bathroom right as he heard the lock click. There was a long scream. Orochimaru heard something fall to the floor.

Panic gripped his chest, something was wrong and he had no idea what to do. Should he call for help? Should he wait by the door? He certainly couldn't leave Itachi alone. He sat with his back against the door and waited, listening just in case anything happened. He felt helpless but it was all he could do.

Itachi sat on the floor of the bathroom, it had been too close. He had felt his eyes start to change, the stinging and burning had started and he had made it to the bathroom just in time. He wanted to hit something, he was usually in control but there was something about his father that caused him to react violently. He didn't want Sasuke to become what he had, to be forced to work for the family business for the rest of his life. He sat with his back leaning against the bathroom door and leaned his head back. He was glad he could be away from his house for at least four years, but he knew he shouldn't have left Sasuke there alone.

"Itachi…" there was a quiet voice from the other side of the door. "I'm here if you need anything"

He had forgotten Orochimaru had seen everything. He would ask questions, anybody would, but Itachi wasn't going to say anything, it wasn't Orochimaru's business. He slowly stood up and picked up his bag, he checked the mirror. Nope, his eyes were their usual black, he took a deep breath to calm himself and prepare to pretend that nothing had happened. He slowly unlocked the door and opened it.

Orochimaru heard the door unlocking and quickly stood up, he didn't know what to expect, but he could at least be there. Itachi stepped out of the bathroom and gave him a weak smile. Orochimaru could see through it, but he played along and smiled back. They started to walk towards the stairs, but Itachi seemed to be weak and off balance. Wordlessly Orochimaru put a steadying hand on his shoulder.

They walked back to the dorms and started to move Orochimaru's things into Itachi's room, slowly Itachi seemed to return to his normal quiet and reserved self. They moved all the stuff pretty quickly and soon Itachi had a roommate and shared the secret of a pet snake named Karin.

Later that afternoon everything had returned to normal and the two of them decided to enjoy the warm September weather. They walked outside, planning on just relaxing in the sun somewhere but neither of them wanted to be near other people.

"I saw place behind the humanities building, there's some trees and grass and a parking lot that no one every uses." Orochimaru suggested

"Sounds good," Itachi replied and shifted his sketchbook and a large novel to his other arm.

They walked to the agreed upon place and saw that it was very isolated. Itachi smiled, this place was perfect and he would definitely have to come back when he was alone. They settled down under a tree and pretty soon Orochimaru had fallen asleep with a science article over his face and Itachi was in the world of his drawing. They were like this for about an hour when Itachi heard the sound of small wheels on pavement and he looked up to see what it was.

Hidan was skateboarding into the abandoned parking lot. He rolled over to the side and threw his backpack into the grass then started doing tricks. Itachi watched from over the top of his sketchbook. He hadn't gotten many opportunities to do things that normal kids got to do when he was growing up, and he was fascinated by the movement. He continued to observe silently and started doing quick sketches of the forms of the tricks.

Hidan must have felt someone watching him because he stopped and looked over at where Itachi and Orochimaru were sitting. He waved and Itachi hesitantly waved back, he didn't want to be noticed but it seemed like that was inevitable. Hidan walked over to where he was sitting and sat down in the grass next to him.

"Hey man! You finally stopped studying?" Hidan asked

"Yeah, we got kind of tired and it was just a really nice day outside." Itachi replied, quickly closing his sketchbook to hide the sketches of the skater kid.

"Nice! I try to be outside as much as possible, it's much more calming than being stuck in a building with books all the time." Hidan looked over at Itachi's sketchbook, "You like to draw?" he asked.

"Sometimes yeah," Itachi looked down at the closed notebook.

"What do you like to sketch?"

"People mostly, but I'll draw most anything that I find interesting, I just like to observe and to copy what I see as exactly as I can." Itachi replied slowly, he didn't really like talking about his drawings, they were mostly just exercises. He never did anything that he would consider art.

"Can I see some?"

Itachi hesitated, it was mostly filled with sketches of his family and their house, then recently he had been trying to draw Orochimaru's eyes, they were very complex and he had yet to capture them. "I don't really like to show people…"

"Alright, if you're not comfortable with it then that's ok." Hidan laughed and leaned back.

Itachi was puzzled, this kid had seemed so angry before, he had complained about everything in almost every class they had and never seemed to hang out with anyone. He constantly carried around his skateboard and almost always had headphones in like he was shutting out the world on purpose. But when they were talking he seemed so relaxed and calm, just really chill.

Hidan looked up from his phone at Itachi, "hey man, is everything ok? You aren't saying much."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry, I was just thinking." His mind raced, trying to think of something to talk about since silence seemed to make Hidan uncomfortable. "So, how long have you been skateboarding?"

"Since middle school, not exactly sure why I started, but I'm glad that I stuck with it. I met most of my friends through skating." He paused, "none of them came here though" He sounded a little saddened by this, but he brightened up a second later. "Wanna see a trick?"

"Sure."

Hidan stood and went back to the pavement and did a complicated looking trick. Then looked back over at Itachi, "whaddya think?"

"Looks cool, and difficult." Itachi replied, he really didn't know what else to say, he didn't know much about skateboarding except that it looked pretty cool.

"One of my favorites," Hidan said walking back over. "You should try some time, it's a lot of fun, and you look like you're aren't just a book person."

This was unexpected to hear, most people couldn't tell because he wasn't bulky, but Itachi was required to stay as healthy as possible because it made his episodes easier to handle. "No, not just a book person. I haven't had time to exercise while here though." Between his classes and studying biology and philosophy he had been swamped.

"Bro, you should definitely try it then, I think you would pick it up fast. Mostly balance and foot position, come on," he stood up, "I'll show you some stuff, you're friend hasn't woken up yet and no one else is around."

Itachi shrugged, it couldn't hurt he supposed. He got up and followed Hidan to the pavement.

"First step on to the bolts, its balanced there so the board won't flip up. Good, now try pushing off slowly and then put your back foot back on to the bolts." Hidan stepped back and let Itachi roll and few feet until the board stopped. "See, not so hard!"

Over the next hour Itachi learned how to roll and turn and stop on the skateboard. It was essentially pretty simple, but it was also very difficult finding balance on a small piece of wood that was determined to not work with him. Hidan was pretty helpful and encouraging, though he did like to laugh at Itachi when he did something stupid.

Hidan checked his phone, "crap, I have to go," he ran over and grabbed his backpack and picked up his board, "see you around man." He said, then held out his fist for a fist bump.

Itachi reached over and knocked fists with him, "thanks for showing me some stuff."

"Anytime! See you in class!" he turned and started speed walking up to the sidewalk that went through campus.

What an odd person, Itachi thought and walked back to the tree where he had left Orochimaru. It was about time for dinner and he was hungry. He bent over to wake up Orochimaru when the article that he was reading caught his eye. He carefully lifted it off of Orochimaru's face and started flipping through it. There was stuff underlined and highlighted all over the place, one line in particular caught Itachi's attention: "Not all forms of ocular mutation are just for show. It is rare, but it has been seen in certain families these mutations cause the subject to obtain different kinds of visual powers. It is unknown whether these powers are safe or if they will have any sort of side effects."

Itachi dropped the article, and took a step back from where Orochimaru was sleeping. Who was this guy? Why was he so interested in ocular mutations that he would do extra research outside of class on it. A chill crawled up Itachi's spine, was it possible that he knew? He tried to get this thought out of his head, he could be researching his own eyes. Having the eyes of a snake certainly wasn't something normal.

Orochimaru opened one eye, then sat up quickly, "how long was I asleep for?!"

"About two hours."

"Wow, must have been really tired." He rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn, "man am I hungry though."

"I was just about to wake you, want to get some dinner?" Itachi started gathering his things together. He decided not to question Orochimaru about the article just yet, it didn't feel right.

The two started walking up towards the dining hall, the sun was starting to set and was filtering through the leaves that were just starting to change color. A mist was rising over the pond in the middle of campus. Under different circumstances Itachi would have slowed down and savored this walk, it was his favorite kind of weather and time of day. He glanced sideways at Orochimaru who was just walking along, he seemed not to notice the beauty of the moment. Itachi looked down at the path, the sun was almost down and as the darkness crept over the campus his thoughts returned to Orochimaru's research. The words he had read haunted him. Side effects were unknown. He shivered. A sense of foreboding settled on him as they entered the cheery dining hall, something was weird and he needed to figure it out.

 _Orochimaru Receives a Warning_

It was about the middle of October on a Saturday morning. Orochimaru opened one eye, then let out a yawn. He loved Saturday mornings. Unlike Itachi, who woke up every morning extra early for absolutely no reason whatsoever, he enjoyed sleeping late. He looked over at Itachi's bed, it was already made neatly with the blankets pulled perfectly flat and the pillows arranged in the most organized way possible. Oh yeah, this was the day Itachi had to go on a trip with his philosophy class, Orochimaru remembered. It was going to be a pretty quiet day then.

He sighed and sat up, he looked out the window and saw that it was a fairly overcast day. The leaves were bright orange against the dark gray clouds. He saw a breeze rustle the leaves of the trees around the quad and a lonely crow flew over campus. It seemed like a nice calm day to get things done, Orochimaru smiled.

He quickly got up and messily pulled his blankets towards the head of his bed then changed out of his pajamas into black jeans and purple t-shirt. He went over to the mirror and carefully applied purple eye shadow around his eyes and put in his earrings. Then he grabbed a sweatshirt and his backpack and headed out the door. This was one his rare days when he could do his private research in peace, of course after he saw Dr. Ramona at office hours, the current chapter was difficult, even for him. He was a little nervous, she was so young and pretty, so accomplished already. It kind of made him think that he hadn't done anything with his life. He sighed as he walked to the science building, he could get food after.

He reached the building and walked in. there had to be an elevator nearby somewhere, he started walking towards the hallway past the reception desk when a voice stopped him, "is there any room I can help you find?"

Orochimaru looked down, at the desk where a student with large round glasses was sitting, he looked bored. "Well," he paused, "can you tell me where to find the elevator?"

The student snorted, "what, never used it before?"

"No…" Orochimaru was unsure if he was being mocked or if this kid was just mean in general.

"It's down the hall to your right, there are signs everywhere, not sure how you missed them." The kid leaned back and sneered at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru turned to leave, he didn't have time for stupid people and there were more important things t-

"Don't get too lost snake eyes."

Orochimaru stopped. "What. Did. You. Just. Call. Me."

"Did I stutter?"

Orochimaru didn't really know how to respond to that, he really wanted to hit this kid, hard. But that would cause problems, he could try to brush it off but he already lost that option by responding. Stupid stupid stupid, he thought, I should know how to ignore this by now. "whatever." He said and started walking again, he slowly clenched and unclenched his fists. Ignore it, just let it go.

He reached the elevator and got on as quickly as possible. He tried to forget about what happened, he needed to put his attention on science and more importantly learning about ecological formulas.

The elevator dinged and Orochimaru exited onto the fourth floor and found Dr. Ramona's office, he cautiously knocked on the door.

"Come in!" a pleasant voice yelled from inside the room.

Orochimaru relaxed, her voice was so mellifluous and smooth, and it even made listening to lectures bearable. He slowly turned the knob and opened the door.

The office was wall to wall bookshelves. Except there seemed to be more books on the desk and floor than actually on the shelves. There were textbooks piled on the desk, journals in stacks in various parts of the room, and some scientific books just haphazardly scattered throughout. The shelves were covered in everything from the assembled skeletons of small rodents to plants to random pieces of paper. The only shelf that seemed to be organized and clean was one shelf on the top of the bookshelf behind the door, it was tightly packed with very old looking books that were decorated and had very old gothic script down the spines.

"What can I help you with Orochimaru?" Dr. Ramona asked, she was sitting in a desk chair at a desk with a computer and almost every species of potted cactus. "This chapter is difficult math-wise, I'm surprised I haven't seen more students."

"How many have you seen?" Orochimaru asked, feeling a little uncomfortable in the menagerie of an office.

She thought for a moment, "only you."

Orochimaru nodded, then stepped further into the office.

"Oh! Here," she moved a stack of books off of an ancient looking chair, "you can sit here."

During the next hour, she talked Orochimaru through using the formulas and told him everything he needed to know about how the formulas had been created and then coached him through some examples. The hour flew by as he started to understand what they had been learning, math had never been his strong subject.

"And that should prepare you for the next exam." Dr. Ramona leaned back and put her feet on her desk. "Did you have any more questions about the material?"

Orochimaru was about to say no, when an idea came to mind, "what do you know about hereditary ocular mutations? I have a small research project I'm doing for….another class, and I feel like I have run out of articles to read on it."

Dr. Ramona gave him an odd sideways glance, "there isn't really much on the topic since it's a fairly new area of study, though these mutations have been around for centuries. May I ask what class this is for?" she raised a questioning eyebrow.

Orochimaru started to blush, "w-well, uh, i-i-its a-a-actually is a b-bit m-more of-f a p-personal p-p-project…." He silently cursed his stutter.

Dr. Ramona seemed like she wanted to ask more, but instead she said, "I have some articles you might not have read, some stuff that I wrote if you want to take a look at it. Just make sure you bring it back when you're done." She stood up and pulled three stapled packets from off one of the shelves then reached under a stack of books and pulled out the one on the bottom.

Orochimaru smiled, "thanks! I'll take good care of them!"

"A warning Orochimaru, this is a new area of study because the people who have these mutations are very secretive and very private. They don't want the whole world knowing their secrets. Stay safe and try not to tell a lot of people what you are researching." Her face was very serious when she said this.

Orochimaru nodded. He got the feeling that Itachi was very private about his eyes, and that if his family found out they would not be happy some random stranger knew about it. He stood up to go and Dr. Ramona opened the door for him to leave.

"If you find out anything new, please tell me about it! I would love to hear what you think about my articles and just your general thoughts on the topic!"

"I will! See you in class!" Orochimaru responded, then walked back towards the elevator. He slipped the new sources into his bag quickly so no one would see them. He took the elevator back down to the lobby and was leaving when he heard an unfortunately familiar voice.

"Oi snake man, don't get lost in the tall grass."

Orochimaru growled but kept walking, he wasn't going to give this guy the satisfaction of a reaction twice. He walked out into the cloudy day and relaxed, now he could do whatever he wanted to. Food first, he thought. He had skipped breakfast and was really starting to regret that now. He was also kind of missing Itachi, he didn't realize how much they hung out until he had to go through his day alone.

After he got his food he decided to eat near the TV in the hopes that something good was playing. He sat down and started eating and watching, it was the news, not too thrilling. He pulled out the picture of Itachi's family that he kept in his bag, he still felt kind of bad for taking it. He stared at it, Itachi's family was all sitting around in what he assumed was Itachi's backyard. They looked so happy, the parents, Sasuke, though not Itachi, but he never looked happy.

He put the picture down and sighed, it was something he never had: a family. He flinched. Memories of his parents pierced his brain, it hurt when he thought about them. He felt tears coming and he squeezed his eyes shut in a vain attempt to stop them. In the blackness behind his eyelids he saw his parents, their bodies were on the ground blood was slowly staining the carpet around them. He saw himself, only about two years old, just old enough to remember the scene.

He opened his eyes quickly and could feel the tears running down his cheeks. He quickly put the picture into his bag in a pocket where he wouldn't see it. He wiped his face on his sweatshirt sleeve and pulled out an article to read while he finished eating. Science didn't have emotions, he could always rely on it to make himself feel better.

As he read his mind kept going back to the picture, the smiling faces, and the family all sitting around together. He began to feel a hole in his chest, a deep dark lonely hole. He thought about his uncle, he didn't really miss him very much, they weren't close. He had always been encouraged to study his interests, so he studied, that was all. His uncle had never gotten over his sister's death and had never been able to be much in the way of a "loving parent" to him. He shook his head, he needed to stop thinking about this.

He quickly finished his food and got up to leave. He had heard about a movie being shown on campus sometime today, maybe he would go to that. He was walking back towards the dorm when he saw Hidan skating the other way down the sidewalk.

"Orochimaru! Hey!" he stopped and stood in front of Orochimaru's path.

"Hey." He had gotten used to Hidan by now, since he hung out with Itachi in their room every once in a while.

"Are you busy right now?" he asked.

"Well I was just about to- "

"Great, I need your help with something." Hidan said quickly grabbing his arm, then he ran off leading, Orochimaru towards the dorms.

When they reached the building Orochimaru was out of breath and very angry. "Hidan! What's your deal? I have better thi-"

"Look I just need help with something, ok? After you can go and do whatever you want. I just need like, maybe 10 minutes at the most." He looked at Orochimaru with big pleading eyes.

"Fine." Orochimaru sighed, the faster this was over the faster he could go do research. "What do you need?"

"I need you to help me get a girl's attention."

Orochimaru blinked, this was not something he knew how to do. "Um… I'm not sure if-"

"bro, you don't need to do anything, just stand there and when I start to talk to her try and keep the conversation going and ask me interesting things about myself." Hidan looked around Orochimaru frantically, "she's coming, quick, look casual." And he shoved his hands into his pockets.

Orochimaru just stood there frozen, what should he do? What was casual? "So Hidan, you like skateboarding?"

Hidan gave him an angry look, "she already knows that!" he whispered. Then he turned as a girl about his height came closer. She was wearing skinny jeans and a graphic T shirt with sneakers. She had headphones on and seemed not to notice either of them.

She noticed Orochimaru and stopped, "Hey man, those are some sick contacts! Where did you get them?"

Orochimaru was confused, he didn't know how to respond. Contacts? He thought, then remembered, "oh, its natural." He said, mentally bracing for the usual repulsion.

"That's sick, man!" then she seemed to notice Hidan, "hey Hidan, what's up?"

"Just about to head over and get some food. You wanna come?" He answered casually.

"Hm, I'm supposed to be meeting someone already, but I don't think he'd mind if you came along!" she smiled.

Hidan blinked a few times, he wasn't prepared for that answer. "Ok, sounds good. He a close friend or something?" he played it cool, hiding his disappointment with calculated questions.

The girl laughed, "oh gosh no. not close, he's my lab partner, we have an assignment due Monday." Then she turned to Orochimaru, "I'm Anko by the way, and I really do think your eyes are awesome, mine are just boring and brown and it gets old really fast."

"Orochimaru." He replied, then blushed slightly. No one had ever complimented him on his eyes before.

"See you later man!" Hidan said, and walked away with Anko.

Orochimaru watched the two of them walk off and shook his head. People were really odd. He walked back to his room and decided to shower before he did anything else since the bathroom would be relatively empty this time of day.

He stood under the stream of hot water and tried to forget about earlier. It usually worked when he thought about his research, but since it was about Itachi, all it did was make him think about the picture and eventually his parents. He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist and started to comb out his hair in front of the mirror. He had a weird feeling that he was being watched, he looked around but he was the only one in the bathroom. He walked back to his room and threw on athletic shorts and another t-shirt, may as well be comfy while he studied.

There was a knock on the door. He looked over and saw that someone had slipped an envelope under the door and he got up and walked over to see what it was. He picked it up and opened the envelope, all that was inside was a sticky note with the words "behind the science building, 9:30".

Orochimaru squinted at the sticky note. This was cryptic and definitely couldn't be anything good. He was curious though. He closed the envelope and put it on his desk, he still wasn't sure if he should go or not, but he would have to decide later. This was his time to get some serious reading done before Itachi came back and asked what he was reading.

A few hours passed and he had finished the reading material given to him by Dr. Ramona, it had been very helpful and he had taken lots of notes. It was almost 10:00 now and Itachi still wasn't back. This made Orochimaru a little worried, he said he wouldn't be back too late, but he was still uneasy. He started picking up his study materials and hiding them in the back of his closet. He went back to his desk and noticed the envelope.

There was a knock on the door, and he dropped the envelope in surprise. Someone started banging on the door, and he walked over hesitantly. "Who's there" Orochimaru shouted, he didn't want to open the door, he sensed that danger was near and he couldn't shake the feeling.

"Open the door snake eyes."

He froze. That kid from earlier. What did he want? To call him more names? "Go away or I'll call the RA." He was pissed off, but he wasn't stupid, that guy from earlier looked bigger than he was and he wasn't about to throw himself into anything dangerous.

"Oh really? Do you think the RA would be on your side if I told her you had a snake in your room?" the voice sneered.

Crap. Someone had told. His mind immediately jumped to Hidan, but then he shoved that thought to the side. Hidan didn't know, only Itachi knew. But Itachi wouldn't tell anyone, he barely talked to anybody. He tensed his body, "you don't have any proof of anything unless you admit you've been in another student's room without permission, and that's trespassing."

"If you want to talk more about breaking rules in the dorms, I could just show the RA the broken mirror in my room."

Orochimaru breathed in. the mirror. He had forgotten all about it. Who was this guy, it wasn't his old roommate, that kid barely did anything aside from play video games. He slowly walked toward the door, he dreaded whatever was going to happen next. He really hoped Itachi would be back soon.

He opened the door and the guy from the reception desk was standing in front of him. He had guessed right about this guy being taller, his eyes were even with the guy's collar bone. The guy was very tall and covered in lean muscle. He had large circular glasses and medium length dark gray hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"I don't believe we've met, my name is Kabuto and this is supposed to be my room." He scowled down at Orochimaru who just scowled back.

"You never showed up, besides, you still have a place to sleep. Grow up and get over it." Orochimaru replied and scowled deeper. A second later he realized that he probably shouldn't be rude to someone almost twice his size.

Kabuto reached down and lifted Orochimaru by the collar of his shirt. "I don't like you. You look like a creep and you're in the room that I am supposed to have."

"Put me down." Orochimaru kept his voice steady. If this guy thought he'd never had to deal with bullies before, he had another thing coming.

"Make me, snake eyes." Kabuto replied and slammed Orochimaru's back into the wall of the hallway.

Orochimaru coughed and struggled to breath, this guy was really strong. "Keep your hands to yourself." He managed to say, though it was hard to sound threatening when you can barely breathe.

Kabuto let go of Orochimaru's shirt and watched him slump over against the wall. "You're an odd guy, really into science and what else? Oh yeah. Other people's lives." He held up the picture of Itachi's family that Orochimaru had kept. Then he put the picture in his back pocket, "thanks to you, I have more information about your roommate than I could have ever gotten if I had been his roommate." Then he punched Orochimaru in the stomach.

He felt like had had been hit with a truck. He could have sworn he was standing up but the carpet was getting really close to his face. He tasted blood in his mouth. Then he saw another pair of shoes, black skate shoes. He heard a different voice and he tried to pick himself up to see what was going on.

"Back off."

Kabuto turned around and a guy was standing behind him. He was shorter and was carrying a skateboard. Kabuto sneered, "what are you gonna do about it shrimp?"

He didn't say another word, there was the sound of someone getting hit, then another and another. Hidan stood looking down at Kabuto who had one hand over his face trying to stop a bleeding nose and another holding his ribs. "If I ever catch you bothering him again, next time you won't be able to stand up. Got it?" Hidan's face was serious.

Kabuto scrambled to his feet and started to run down the hallway. He turned back and yelled, "I won't forget you! Next time I'll be ready! And you won't be able to walk, punk!" then he disappeared down the stairs.

At that moment, Itachi came round the corner and saw Hidan helping up Orochimaru. He stopped and his mouth dropped open, "what the hell happened!" he ran over and helped Hidan carry Orochimaru back into the room.

"Not sure what it was about, I'm just glad I was thinking of stopping by." Hidan said.

Orochimaru wiped his mouth on his sleeve but stayed quiet. What was there to say? He couldn't tell them anything without revealing what his research was and that might cause even more problems. "It was nothing." He said, then started climbing into bed.

Itachi was quiet for a while and he stared at Orochimaru, he knew it wasn't nothing. Perhaps he wasn't comfortable talking about it in front of Hidan, maybe he would never find out. He sighed, "Alright, just let me know if you have to go see a doctor." Itachi turned to Hidan, "thanks for all your help and for protecting my friend."

"It's no problem, he helped me out earlier today." Hidan said, then walked towards the door. "Goodnight."

As Hidan left, Itachi started to get ready for bed. He wanted to question Orochimaru, but that would have to wait. If Orochimaru was in some kind of trouble, he wanted to help him out. He didn't know how he would, but he could at least teach Orochimaru how to defend himself.

Orochimaru stared at the wall, Itachi had called him his friend. What was that supposed to mean? Did he have to tell him about his research and the stolen picture now? He'd never really had friends before, and he didn't want his first one to be based on lies. He remembered Dr. Ramona's warning about not telling anyone what he was looking into. Something Kabuto had said stood out in his mind, that he had given more information, did this mean that people were following Itachi? He tried not to think about it now. He closed his eyes and fell asleep almost instantly.

 _A Halloween Scare_

There was an odd buzz around campus when Itachi and Orochimaru got out of biology. There were small paper ghosts taped all over the walls, pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns in random corners, and candy everywhere. Nothing said Halloween like an entire campus collectively obsessing over ghouls and monsters with sugar on the side. The dorms were even worse, there were streamers and fake cobwebs spread all over the walls, on doors, in front of windows, and on the carpets. Fake spiders were glued into random places like toilets and unsuspecting bookshelves. No one really knew who was responsible for all of it, it had just slowly happened throughout the week leading up to Halloween. Itachi sighed as he pulled more fake cobwebs off the doorknob to his dorm, at least nothing happened to the inside of it. There was still an illegal pet snake in there after all.

Itachi and Orochimaru walked into the dorm and slammed the door shut. All their other classes had been canceled, of course not Dr. Ramona's class. And they still had to go to lab hours that night.

"I don't understand all this fuss," Orochimaru let out a sigh and flung himself face down onto his bed. "You can buy candy any time of year, why does everyone care about it now?"

Itachi hung his sweatshirt up in the closet, "well, it is a holiday. It's based on the traditions of the-"

"I don't actually care." Orochimaru groaned from the bed. He had already been asked at least ten times during the day if he was already in costume and he was losing patience fast.

Itachi shrugged and watched three pictures of his family fall out the closet from some unknown location. He had been finding them for months now, it looked like Sasuke had taken every single picture from their house and hidden it somewhere in his clothing, bedding, books, and stuff. "At least we have lab hours so we can avoid all the craziness."

"One small relief."

"A bit dramatic don't you think?" Itachi laughed and sat down on his bed.

Orochimaru just glared across the room, then slammed his face back into his pillow. "I suppose that you took part in this holiday growing up and are going to drag me into all the revelry."

"Actually no." Itachi was quiet, "it wasn't really safe to." He didn't elaborate, and got up to grab a book off the shelf, another picture floated down to the floor. "We have some time to kill before lab, are you gonna do any work?"

"No" Orochimaru said into the pillow, "I just wanna sleep until it's all over."

There was a knock at the door. Then there was a giggle and then pounding against the door.

Orochimaru rolled his eyes, "great, just who I wanted to see." He stayed in bed and started to pull the blankets over himself.

Itachi got up an opened the door, "hello Hidan, Anko." He nodded in their direction.

Before he could get any more words out, Hidan shoved him out of the way and burst into the room dragging Anko behind him, "we have got the best idea for costumes for the Halloween party!"

"Get out!" Orochimaru yelled from under his blankets, "don't bring that awful holiday in here!"

"Don't be silly Oro!" Anko smiled and pulled his blankets back, "it's a wonderful holiday and you're participating."

"Anyways," Hidan continued, "you can't skip the Halloween party. Everyone is going. And Anko already picked out your costumes so we can all go together!"

Orochimaru reached over and snatched his blankets away from Anko, "we have lab tonight Hidan, until nine, remember?" and he once again hid from the other three.

"He's right you know, we can't just blow off lab for a holiday. We have bacteria cultures growing and we have to check on them." Itachi was desperately trying to think of excuses, as much as he liked hanging out with Hidan and Anko, he wasn't a party person.

Hidan looked at him like he had five heads. "Are you kidding me Itachi? Bacteria? That's your excuse?" he shook his head, "fine. We go and check the bacteria and then you come to the campus party. We can all go together."

"And I'll meet you there!" Anko chimed in, as if that made it so much better. "Now as for costumes, Hidan and I are all set. He's going as a bounty hunter and I'm going as a pop star. And for you" she stepped closer to Itachi and pulled something out of her backpack then jumped up and put it on his head before he knew what was happening. "You are going to be a cat!"

Itachi just stared back wide-eyed. He could feel his cheeks getting red. "Um….I don't think that-"

"It's ok, I have a tail and a small bell you can wear too!"

Itachi went quiet again. This was not what he had expected when he thought about Halloween costumes and scary holidays. He started to plan ways of ditching Hidan before he got to the party.

Anko turned to Orochimaru who was still hiding under his blankets, "and you," she paused, then smiled. "You are going to be a ghost!"

There was a long angry groan from under the covers as Orochimaru heard this.

"See! It's perfect! All you need is a sheet and no one will even know who you are."

"How come he gets to be something where no one will know who he is?!" Itachi cut in, "everyone is going to know exactly who I am!"

Anko turned and smiled evilly in his direction. "That's because we want them to, girls like you Itachi and if you are covering your face none of them will talk to you. And it's even better if you're something cute, that way they will think you are way cuter than you already are."

"but" He started to argue back, " I don't have time for this nonsense, there are vocab words to be memorized and grades to be maintained and I don't want another person who is going to distract me from what I came here to do: study!" He hadn't realized he was shouting until he stopped and noticed that all three of them were just staring at him.

"I-Itachi, I think that's the loudest I've ever heard you say anything…" Orochimaru looked a little scared, Itachi had always been so stoic and quiet that it was really odd seeing him react to something so emotionally.

"I just really don't want to be a cat." He said quietly and reached up to take the cat ears off his head.

Anko slapped his hand. "No! Itachi, all you ever do is study and hang out with Orochimaru, you need to live a little. Oro is going, you can to. And you will be the best and most adorable cat at the party." Anko was nice but insistent.

Itachi sighed, there was no getting out of anything when Anko was around. She was nice and friendly and really chill, but between her and Hidan there had been a lot of adventures that could have been avoided. There was the time they had all gotten in trouble for swimming in the lake, and then setting the biology lab on fire which, in all honesty had been Orochimaru's fault.

Hidan and Anko left to go get ready and chill before all the craziness started. Itachi and Orochimaru just stared at each other, just 20 minutes earlier they had decided they would avoid Halloween as much as they could and now they had just gotten dragged into going to a party, and to make it worse: in costume.

Throughout most of the rest of the day Itachi did some reading for class and avoided thinking about the party as much as possible. Orochimaru asking about him celebrating Halloween had reminded him of how his family had spent it: at his dad's office, they would order pizza and his mom would try to make everyone as cheerful as she could in a dark cold office building. His dad would just work, he was at his office so why not. He would usually have to keep quiet and not disturb his dad, so he would read and draw. When Sasuke had come along it had gotten a bit more fun, they would play tag and hide and seek as long as they were quiet and didn't disturb anyone. He blinked and came back to reality and refocused on his textbook.

Orochimaru decided to go on a walk and do some of his research in the library. He had come across a lead connecting ocular mutations to geographical location and he wanted to look into it more. When he got to the library he searched some books on the school catalog then went up to the science section to find what he was looking for then wandered over to geography and grabbed some atlases. He grabbed an individual study table and immersed himself in his research. He had gotten so enveloped in reading that he didn't notice a large figure come up behind him.

"Hello snake eyes."

Orochimaru jumped up got ready to throw his book, "What do you want." He snarled.

"Calm down, just saying hi." Kabuto leered. "I don't see your friends around right now, guess you're all alone."

Orochimaru smiled sideways, "Oh yeah, because it's not like any loud noise in a library isn't going to attract any attention. Now, leave me alone before I yell 'fire' and get us both in trouble." He knew he wasn't going to be an equal match physically, even if Itachi and Hidan had shown him a few things. It wouldn't be enough, not yet anyways.

Kabuto took a step back and put his hands in the air like he had done nothing wrong. "Chill out snake eyes, I was just saying hi." He started to back away.

Orochimaru slowly sat back down and went back to his reading. He would have to deal with Kabuto sometime, just not today. At some point he would have to figure out what this guy wanted with Itachi and try to do something about it. No one, absolutely no one spied on or plotted about his friend without going through him first. Itachi had been nice to him, and he was not going to let that get repaid with sneaking around helping creeps like Kabuto.

He looked at his watch, he had been in the library for about three hours. It was quiet today, since everybody was out getting ready for that night. There were a few other students quietly reading or doing work, but even they were rushing through assignments to make sure they had nothing to do tonight. Orochimaru sighed, what was so great about wearing costumes and being stupid? He really didn't get people sometimes.

"Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru almost jumped out of his skin. He jumped up and turned around to see Dr. Ramona standing behind his chair with her arms full of books. If he hadn't known any better he would have thought she was another student: she was wearing a green t-shirt that read "Loki Charms" and skinny jeans with sneakers and a black hoodie. "H-hello… D-dr. Ramona." He managed to get out.

"I don't remember assigning that much reading in class, is this," she looked both ways and stepped closer, "your other project?"

Orochimaru blushed, "Y-yeah, I-I had s-s-some th-thoughts a-and w-w-wanted to l-look into i-i-it." he cursed himself again for stuttering, it always happened when he got embarrassed or caught off guard.

"Oh? What are you looking at? Mind if I join?" Her face seemed to light up at the thought of doing more research and looking at it from a different angle.

"S-sure!" Orochimaru smiled a little, he liked the idea of a study partner. And she was really pretty… "Let me make some space!" he cleared a section of the table off and pulled up a chair.

"Thanks! Now, what was the angle you were looking at?" Dr. Ramona settled down and started looking over his notes and books.

Hours flew past as the two worked together and created a comprehensive map of ocular mutation by geographical location. They seemed to not be distracted by anything as they took turns poring over books and then marking the maps with sticky notes. Dr. Ramona knew a lot about the mutations and how they were passed which was very helpful to have as a resource.

"Hold up." She tapped Orochimaru on the shoulder, "this location, that's this area. Well, this state anyways. Which mutation did you have for this one?"

Orochimaru grabbed a book from under the pile and flipped through the pages, "unknown, side effects unknown, rumored to be very powerful." He read a few more lines, "it is rumored to be a trait of a powerful mob family but there is no proof. Just a lot of mysterious deaths."

Dr. Ramona started chewing on her pen, "there are a few known gangs in the area that are relatively powerful." She continued to think. "Orochimaru, I need to ask you stop researching this for now."

Orochimaru looked over suddenly, he hadn't expected to hear that.

"you seem to be on to something with the geographical location lead, but in light of this new evidence I don't think it's safe for you to continue." She looked at him straight in the eyes, "I know what happened a few weeks ago. I can't allow this to continue if you are going to get hurt."

Orochimaru looked down, "I can't just stop. I need to do this research, I need to do it to protect someone. I'm sorry, but I acknowledge your warning, but I can't stop now." He looked back at Dr. Ramona, his jaw was set and he slammed his fist into the table.

She flinched, she recognized a lot of the same determination that she had when she had first started looking into this when she was 14. It had been fine until her research partner ended up in the hospital with both his eyes missing, the message had been clear: you don't mess with something that you have no business knowing.

Orochimaru checked the time on his phone, "crap I have to go eat before lab! Thanks for helping me, I won't involve you in this any farther," he handed her back the books she had lent him then got up to leave.

"Be careful Orochimaru, I'll look out for you, but there is a limit to what I can do as a professor if anything dangerous happens." She got up and started to gather her things as well, "I'll see you in the lab."

As Orochimaru left the library he started to question his sanity. He had just refused to listen to possibly the most beautiful person he had ever met and made her worry about him, and then he had scared her. I am such an idiot, he thought. Then slammed his book against his forehead for being stupid.

He walked into the dorm building and up the stairs to his floor. When he got there he heard commotion down the hall. Intrigued, he walked towards the loud shouting. Oddly enough it was coming from near his room. As he got closer he could see a crowd of the guys from the floor all yelling and hollering in a circle around Hidan and Kabuto. They were fighting again.

Hidan had blood on his shirt and had blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth. His hands were balled into fists and his knuckles were purple and swollen. He was scowling and snarling, and his eyes were wild and terrifying.

Kabuto looked significantly worse, he had a black eye and the entire side of his face was swollen, he has also gripping his shoulder tightly and there was blood was running down his arm which hung limply. "It's none of your business what I do!" He yelled at Hidan.

"You try and break into my friend's room and it becomes my business!" Hidan said back, "Now get the hell out of here." With that he rushed at Kabuto and hit him in the side, there was an awful crunching noise as Kabuto's ribs bruised and cracked.

Kabuto turned and ran down the hallway past Orochimaru, shoving him into the wall as he passed.

The crowd started to disperse and Orochimaru walked towards his room, there was evidence of the fight all over the hallway: blood on the carpet and the walls, ripped decorations, and a hole in the wall about the size of Hidan's fist. As he neared his door he heard someone mutter something about their hallway winning the decorating contest if they left the mess.

Hidan leaned against the wall as he saw Orochimaru coming towards him. He let out a sigh, what was this guy's deal? What was happening in this room that Kabuto was so interested in it?

"Hidan! Are you ok?"

Blackness started to cloud his vision and his head started to feel very light all of a sudden. He could feel himself sliding down the wall towards the floor. He could faintly hear Orochimaru's voice yelling and a hand on his shoulder. Crap, he thought, not passing out that is way uncool. Then darkness.

Kabuto stepped out of the dorm building into the Halloween dusk, he cursed and spat blood out of his mouth. Slowly he started to walk to the back of the building near the dumpster and leaned up against the wall. He lifted his shirt to see the damage: bruises ran up and down his side and there were small cuts in places. He gritted his teeth and leaned back against the wall, it was nothing that he wasn't used to already.

Kabuto slid down the wall the so that he was sitting on the ground, he was starting to feel light headed from the pain but he couldn't risk passing out. It was growing dark and he knew that he had to get ready for the big Halloween party, if Itachi and Orochimaru were going to be there then he absolutely had to be there to. He felt a little bad, he hadn't wanted to go to college to terrorize other students, he had come to learn or at least he had intended to come to learn. All that had changed when he had gotten his room assignment, all of a sudden it had become the time for his father to discover the secrets of the Uchiha family.

He slammed his fist onto the pavement, accidently cutting the side of his hand on a piece of broken glass. He had tried to fight it, tried to say no, but there was no arguing with his parents. They were part of something he had been dragged into by birth and he hated every day of it. He had told them he wanted to pursue science, but they had laughed in his face. He'd had perfect grades throughout school but all they cared about was how he did in martial arts. All he was to them was a tool, some minion that they happened to be the parents of.

When he got up to leave, the stars were already coming out and the only light to see by was from the windows of the dorm building. Kabuto slowly walked back to the door, wincing with every step from the bruised ribs which sent intense waves of pain throughout his body. He eventually made it back to his room and started to get ready for the party. It was almost eight o'clock and Itachi would be out of lab hours soon.

As he was getting ready he saw the mirror that Orochimaru had broken. He paused for a moment and looked at himself in the fractured glass. Sometimes that was how he felt: fractured. Sure he was healthy and a great student, but something inside of him made no sense at all, something was broken. He looked away and started to pull on his costume, a black turtle neck and black pants with a mask. He figured that going as a ninja would be fairly subtle since it was dark and, with what he was about to do, he would need to blend into the night. He breathed in and set his jaw, then left for the party.

It was about nine o'clock when Itachi and Orochimaru left the lab, Hidan had just not shown up at all but they weren't really surprised.

"Itachi! Walk faster!" Orochimaru was walking quickly down the path draped in a white sheet, he seemed to be more excited about the party now that he knew no one could see his face.

"Slow down or you'll trip over your sheet." Itachi grumbled, he was wearing what he usually wore, black jeans and a black vest with a gray hood, except instead of his usual red shirt, he had on a white t-shirt. Of course he had the ears, tail, and bell from Anko and he felt no inclination to get to the party any faster than he had to.

The white sheet turned around and stood, waiting impatiently for Itachi to catch up. "You don't have to be so miserable Itachi, it's going to be fun!"

"For you. You don't have to be a cat." Itachi stopped and crossed his arms. "I think I'm just going to head back…I can't do this." He turned around and started walking away.

"NOOOOOOO!" Orochimaru yelled and ran over to stop him. Unfortunately the sheet slipped and the eyeholes moved so Orochimaru ended up running straight into Itachi's back and the two fell heavily onto the ground.

"Ow…"

"I'm sorry!" Orochimaru leapt up and pulled the sheet off then helped Itachi get up, "You can't leave, I can't go alone…"

"Hidan will be there…" Itachi looked to the side, he knew he should go for Orochimaru's sake.

"Please…" Orochimaru stared up at Itachi and opened his eyes really wide, he hoped that he looked convincing.

Itachi pictured Sasuke, then looked down at the ground. "fine." He answered quietly then turned and started walking back towards the party.

Orochimaru smiled and pulled the sheet back on and started followed Itachi into the building.

The party was being held in the Common building, it was covered from roof to basement in cobwebs and paper skeletons with bright lights flashing and loud music blaring. There was one room that had a DJ and dance floor and one that was devoted to food. All around were small activities including everything from bobbing for apples to scary movie marathons. All around were other students dressed in an array of costumes that looked like they either took no effort or were trying too hard to be sexy.

Itachi was overwhelmed as soon as he stepped into the building. Almost every student on campus was there and it felt like they were all staring at him. The lights were too bright, the music was too loud, and everything smelled like sugar and sweat. He felt panic rising in his throat and he wanted to run away as fast as he could.

"Wow…" Orochimaru stepped past Itachi, his eyes taking in everything from under the sheet, "there's so many people here." He looked over at Itachi and saw that he was getting ready to turn and sprint out the door. Orochimaru reached over and grabbed Itachi's arm and pulled him farther into the building, "Let's find Hidan and Anko!"

Itachi followed without saying anything, he had grown incredibly pale. He watched as the people went walking past and Orochimaru dragged him deeper into the colorful mass of festivities.

"Guys!" there was an excited voice from behind them and Anko stepped out of nowhere followed closely by Hidan. They both looked totally unlike themselves, Hidan was wearing cargo pants and military boots with a t-shirt and leather jacket. Anko was wearing a short tight dress covered in sequins with the tallest heels in existence. She was holding a microphone and had on intense amounts of makeup.

"So glad you guys actually showed up!" Hidan smiled and knocked fists with each of them. "We were starting to worry that you guys bailed!" He looked over at Itachi, "uh, Orochimaru is he ok?"

"I'm not sure... I think he's just not used to people or this kind of social situation..." Orochimaru looked over at Itachi again, "he seems to be coming back around though."

Anko reached over and punched Itachi in the arm. "Snap out of it Itachi!" then she stomped on his foot with her heel.

"Ow!" Itachi snapped out of his overwhelmed state and glared at Anko, "come on, that hurt!"

Hidan laughed, "dude, you were spacing out and scaring people. Just relax and enjoy yourself!"

Itachi was quiet for a moment, "I don't know, I kind of just want to leave."

The three others just stared at him, he was impossible, constantly avoiding people and being alone. Hidan sighed, "Itachi, we didn't want to have to do this, but we figured you might be this way." he reached around Itachi and pinned his arms to his sides. Anko started pushing the two of them towards the room blaring music.

Itachi tried to fight back, he tried to slow them down by dragging his feet and twisting, but together they were stronger than he was. "Guys, come on. You don't have to be so pushy."

"Relax bro!" Hidan yelled and they pushed him into the room with the dance.

It was a swirling mass of colors and noise. The room was dark, but there were bright neon lights flashing and swirling across the ceiling. Music blared from massive stacks of speakers in every corner. And the people. People were everywhere, twisting and moving, rubbing up against each other, sweating and jumping.

Itachi froze, he had absolutely no idea what to do. He turned to leave, but when he did there was a girl standing behind him, she was very short and dressed in what looked like underwear paired with bunny ears.

"Hey, you're a cat, that's so adorable!" She smiled wide and put her hand on his chest and started pushing him towards the middle of the mob of people.

This was new to Itachi, he didn't know how to respond and even though he had no idea who this girl was or what she wanted to do, he just felt himself get pushed along into the middle of a pulsating mass of college students.

Hidan, Anko, and Orochimaru all watched from the door as Itachi was forced into dancing with a girl. They stood and laughed hysterically as he stood there and the girl draped herself on him and started to dance.

"I feel kind of bad... he looks so clueless." Anko said finally, between fits of laughter.

"It's good for him!" Hidan replied, "He is considered one of the most attractive guys on campus and he has absolutely no game whatsoever!" Then reached for Anko's hand, "Wanna dance? Maybe we can help him from the dance floor!" and the two went off to go join Itachi and his…new friend.

Orochimaru stood and watched from the side, it was probably one of the most entertaining things he had ever seen and he couldn't help but laugh. Poor Itachi was thrown into a dance and didn't know what to do. Orochimaru sighed, it was slightly relieving to know that no one knew who he was and that they weren't staring at his eyes or pale skin. He felt normal, for the first time in his life. He had friends and even though he didn't want to join them on the dance floor he still felt that they were all together and hanging out. As much as he hated to admit it, being accepted by three people had made him the happiest he had felt in a long time.

After what felt like an hour of terrifying awkwardness, Itachi felt a hand grab his arm and pull him out away from the strange girl and dancing crowd and towards the exit. He was dripping with sweat and on the verge of throwing up when he saw Hidan, Anko, and Orochimaru standing around him.

"So, was she nice?" Anko asked, smiling pleasantly.

Itachi scowled.

"She must have been really nice or really desperate to dance with your limp corpse!" Hidan laughed, then playfully punched Itachi on the shoulder.

He knew that they were just having fun and it hadn't really been terrible or anything, but Itachi had his limits and now he really wanted to leave. "I think I'm gonna be sick.." he started walking towards the bathroom slowly, then realized that he did in fact feel nauseated and started to sprint for the bathroom.

Orochimaru was concerned, he had never seen his friend in such a state before and started to follow Itachi. He made it to the door just in time to hear coughing and vomiting coming from inside the bathroom. This made him pause. He didn't really know what he could do and itachi seemed like the type that didn't want to be seen or have a fuss made over him while he was leaning over a toilet.

Hidan and Anko caught up to Orochimaru, "Oro, is he ok in there?" Anko asked, concerned.

"I think so, just let him get it out I guess."

They all stood around the bathroom entrance, waiting for Itachi to come out. After a while, the door slowly opened and itachi walked out looking pale and sweaty, the lines on his face standing out more than usual. "I think I should leave now..." he barely managed to whisper.

"I'll walk you back," said Orochimaru, but Itachi just held up his hand.

"You're enjoying yourself, stay. Bring me back some candy corn for later... I think I just need to get some rest…" and he walked towards the building entrance.

As soon as he left the building he started to feel better, the night air cleared out his lungs and his stomach started to settle down, he breathed in deeply and walked away into the night. The stars were out and were shining brightly and there was a full moon. The light reflected off the campus pond and shone down among the trees and buildings. It was beautiful and serene and the further Itachi got from the Halloween party, the more relaxed he felt.

Something started pulling at the back of Itachi's mind, the strange feeling that he was being watched. He had grown up learning to trust that instinct so he turned around to see if anyone had followed him out. He didn't see anything. Or maybe he did… he squinted at the land around him and noticed a figure dressed all in black darting from shadow to shadow in his direction.

"Who's there!" itachi said loudly, he tensed his body not sure what to think about being followed. It certainly wasn't something that he expected to happen.

Nothing moved. Itachi started walking in the direction of the figure, he walked slowly because he was still feeling weak from throwing up earlier.

He never saw the first blow coming. It felt like he had walked into a brick wall that just happened to all hit him right in the center of the chest. He went flying backwards and landed on his back slightly dazed.

The figure walked out of the darkness and put a foot on his chest then leaned over. He could faintly see a crooked smile. The person was wearing a black mask and Itachi couldn't make out any other features.

"This is the famed first born of the Uchiha family?" the figure snorted. "I've taken on children who put up more of a fight than you."

Itachi scowled, he didn't like the fact that this person acted like they knew something about his family and especially that this guy thought he was weak. He shoved the guys foot off of his chest and stood up, "if you want to fight go right ahead, but I'm not responsible if you get hurt." And he crouched down, steadying himself and preparing to strike.

The figure took a step back and assumed a fighting stance, "I wouldn't be so confident, I was created to incapacitate and kill."

Itachi struck first, landing a kick on the guy's side, then a hit on the side of his head. This left an opening for his opponent to strike and he blocked a punch aimed at the side of his face. This was followed by a sweep kick which landed Itachi back on the ground. He rolled out of the way just in time to dodge a kick aimed at his side. He rolled into a standing position and used the momentum to throw himself at his attacker and pull him to the ground.

They rolled down the hill, throwing punches and kicking each other, itachi was pretty sure he even felt himself get bitten once. At the bottom of the hill they separated and Itachi stood up a split second before the other guy managed to and he took the opportunity to hit him in the back.

The other guy stayed down and coughed into the dirt. Itachi stood, looking down at his opponent, "Why did you follow me." He asked in a stern voice, though he could feel himself getting ready to vomit again.

There was faint laughter as the other guy picked himself up slowly, "because you… you are my target." He stood across from Itachi and smiled. There was a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. Then before Itachi knew what was happening, he reached over and grabbed his neck, slamming him into the ground.

His head started to pound immediately and he was surprised that he wasn't knocked unconscious. Itachi let out a cough and struggled to breathe as he felt the guy's hand squeezing his throat.

"You don't know me, but your friend Orochimaru does. In fact, Orochimaru and I have a bit of a deal going on, he does research on your family and I steal it and send it to my boss. You thought you had a friend, but really he's only been interested in your eyes and the power they hold." He laughed, "You really are naïve to think that going to a school away from your house was letting you escape your family life."

Itachi coughed again, then managed to grab the other guy's shirt and he pulled as hard as he could, dragging his attackers face close to his, "you…are a … liar." He wheezed, then summoned the rest of his strength and punched the other guy in the temple, knocking him unconscious.

Itachi gulped in air and lay on his back for a minute. Then he slowly picked himself up and limped back to the dormitory. He didn't know who that was, but he had a guess who he was related to: the dragon triad. They had been enemies with his family for as long as he could remember. The last thing he had expected was to meet one here, miles away from home.

He got back to the dorms and took a shower and cleaned himself up as much as possible, though some things he wouldn't be able to hide. He looked in the mirror, he had a massive bruise on the side of his face and his entire body was covered in cuts and scratches. He even found the bite mark on his wrist. He sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed. He knew he should call home and tell his father what happened. But that would lead to questions. He knew exactly what Orochimaru was researching and while it bothered him, he didn't feel like it was a threat in any way. But, his father wouldn't see things like that.

He felt a familiar sting behind his eyes. He groaned, perfect timing, he thought, just when he felt he couldn't be in any more pain. He managed to crawl into bed before the burning started and he curled up and squeezed his eyes shut as hard as he could, wincing from his earlier injuries. It was worse this time, the burning started and intensified and spread through his entire head. He screamed, tears oozed out of his eyes. Just as he thought his head would explode, it stopped. There was a faint tingling sensation and the burning subsided.

This is new, he thought, then managed to get up and crawl over to the mirror. He stared, his eyes stared back: bright red iris with odd black symbols. This was normal, what was odd was that there were more symbols than before, instead of the usual two there were three now and it didn't seem to hurt. He continued to stare as his eyes faded back to the usual black, something had changed and he wasn't sure how it would affect him in the future.

He crawled back into bed exhausted and fell right to sleep. He didn't even wake up when Orochimaru got back and turned the light on to get ready for bed.

Orochimaru snuck in and started changing quickly, he looked over at Itachi who was asleep, then gasped when he saw that he was all cut up and bruised. What had happened after he left the party? He would have to ask in the morning. Orochimaru yawned then turned out the light and crawled between his covers. He stared across the room at Itachi who was illuminated by moonlight filtering in through the window. Orochimaru sighed quietly, then rolled over, he couldn't help but think that it was partly his fault that something happened to Itachi. He let him walk home alone in the dark after all, and to make it worse, when he was sick. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep but his mind kept on drifting back to Itachi's beat up face.

 _It's Hard to Hide Bruises_

Orochimaru woke up the next morning to the sound of a leaf blower on the quad. He yawned and stretched then sat up. Today was Saturday, and that meant no classes and all the private research time in the world. He was about to get out of bed when he noticed that Itachi was still asleep. That's odd, he thought, then checked time thinking that it might be a lot earlier than he thought it was. It was almost 11.

Concerned, Orochimaru quietly walked over and peered at Itachi. He was almost completely covered in blankets and curled up in fetal position. From where he was standing, Orochimaru could just make out a dark purple and yellow bruise forming on the side of Itachi's face near his jaw that extended almost up to his cheekbone.

Oh yeah, it all came flooding back. Orochimaru stepped back and stared at Itachi's sleeping form, he felt numb and he felt all the blame and guilt fall back onto his shoulders. He backed up until he was sitting on his bed again. It was no use trying to avoid it, he knew exactly who had done this and it was his fault for not telling Itachi everything, his fault for letting him leave alone in the dark. He unconsciously put his hand on his neck, remembering his first encounter with Kabuto.

Itachi let out a small groan and rolled over in his sleep so that he was facing toward Orochimaru, but he didn't wake up. Now Orochimaru stared at his full face, there were a few cuts: one at the edge of his mouth, one on the side of his forehead, and a cluster of smaller cuts on the cheek opposite the bruise. Orochimaru winced, it's all my fault it's all my fault it's all my fault repeated over and over again in his head.

Orochimaru quickly threw on black pants and a t-shirt and got ready to get breakfast as fast as possible. He needed to get away and think about this, figure out how to rationalize this in his head. He almost sprinted to the dining hall and got food, then found a corner to sit in alone. He sat for a while, he felt so guilty that he couldn't eat anything.

As he sat staring into space, Orochimaru saw a tall figure limp past. It was Kabuto, and he looked half dead. He had a black eye, a split lip, and what looked like a broken nose. He had bandages on his right hand and he seemed to be favoring his left leg when he walked. He was keeping his head down and sat in the darkest corner of the cafeteria. This confirmed it for Orochimaru, Kabuto had definitely gone after Itachi, though he was still unsure who had won the fight, both of them looked terrible.

There was a faint electronic beep and Orochimaru blinked, suddenly aware of his surroundings again. He checked his phone, it was a text from Itachi: Oro, slept in today can you grab me something from the caf? Tea please, black one sugar packet and some milk. Orochimaru sighed and put his phone away, he wasn't going to let Itachi try to pretend that nothing happened, it was time to tell him everything.

After he grabbed Itachi's tea and a pumpkin chocolate chip muffin, one of Itachi's favorites, he walked back to the dormitory. With every step he could feel the guilt growing heavier and heavier on his shoulders. He felt like crying, something he hadn't felt since the beginning of the semester, after this he might lose the only close friend he'd ever had.

Orochimaru dragged his feet getting back to the dormitory building, half hoping that he would bump into Hidan on the way and that Hidan would have some terrible idea or crazy plan that he would be needed for instead of facing Itachi. As he neared the door to their room he felt his stomach twist up into knots and he started to get chills. He slowly twisted the handle and walked into the room, all the lights were off and the only light came in through the window.

Itachi was sitting at his desk with a textbook. He had on a t-shirt and athletic shorts, the short sleeves revealing more cuts and bruises. When he heard the door open he looked up, "hey, did you get my text?"

"y-yeah" Orochimaru put the tea and muffin on Itachi's desk then stood there.

"thanks." He went back to reading, then noticed that Orochimaru hadn't moved. "Uh, how was the rest of the party?"

Orochimaru was quiet and started to bite his lip, he didn't know how to start to explain. Half of him wanted to just go with ignoring what happened but deep down he knew it was wrong.

"Orochimaru… are you alright? You seem anxious." Itachi had turned and was now facing him, slowly sipping tea.

"I… i-i-it's my fault!" was all Orochimaru managed to get out, then walked towards his desk and sat down on the floor.

Itachi didn't say anything, he hadn't wanted Orochimaru to feel this way. He knew that it might happen but not exactly like this. He clenched his jaw and looked away from his friend. "I don't know what you're talking about, I'm fine."

Orochimaru looked up, now he was mad. "You're not fine! Look at yourself! It would have never happened if I had just minded my own business!"

Itachi's head swiveled back to Orochimaru, his face was expressionless. "Oro, really it's nothing." He didn't know what else to say, he didn't really want to talk about it.

Orochimaru slammed his head into the leg of his desk, knocking over a stack of books. "Augh, you don't get it! I'm the reason why you were attacked! I'm the one who shouldn't have started anything in the first place!"

"I knew what you were researching, Oro." Itachi said quietly.

"No, you don't." Orochimaru stood up and pulled a notebook out that Itachi had never seen before. He tossed it at Itachi who caught it easily.

Itachi started to flip through the pages, inside were sketches of his eyes, pictures of his family, and notes scribbled all over the place about genetic ocular mutations, about how they could be organized by geographical location. He got to one page labeled side effects and saw everything that he experienced, stinging, itching, and panic attacks. The page opposite was blank except for a title: How to Help.

Itachi stopped at this page and stared at it, he could feel a lump forming in his throat, he felt tears coming but he quickly blinked them away.

"I shouldn't have looked into your family, I shouldn't have started researching this, I should have listened to Dr. Ramona." He looked at Itachi, "I should have told you about Kabuto."

Itachi closed the notebook and handed it back to Orochimaru. "Who's Kabuto?"

"He was supposed to be your roommate, and I don't know why but for some reason he was really interested in learning stuff about you. He stole a picture and some of my notes, and Hidan caught him trying to break into our room once. He knows about Karin. I don't know how but he knows almost everything and I know that he was the one who attacked you last night!" Orochimaru felt everything gush out of him all at once, it was relieving but he still didn't know how Itachi would react.

Itachi looked out the window, he understood now. He sighed, it might be a good time to tell Orochimaru a little bit about his life. "Kabuto is a member of the Dragon Triad. They are a gang from my home town, and they are in the middle of a turf war with my family." He paused, "my father… he is the head of the family." He looked Orochimaru straight in the eyes, "what you hear next you can't tell anyone, not Hidan or Anko or Dr. Ramona." He paused and watched this new information sink in. "In my family there is a genetic mutation where our eyes react to changes in blood pressure and levels of adrenaline. When used by people who can control it, like my father, it can be used for heightened observation or even to predict what someone will do next."

Orochimaru stood in the half light of the room, everything was making sense. He didn't know why but he felt himself walking forward slowly, he stood next to Itachi's chair and gently reached over and touched Itachi's eyes. "y-you're…j-just l-like m-m-me…" he could feel tears coming and he didn't try to stop them, he understood now why he and Itachi had become friends, "you have weird eyes… just like me."

Itachi reached up and gently moved Orochimaru's hand, "It's a family secret that a lot of people want to get their hands on… please, if you are going to study this, you need to not tell anyone. If you can't do that you have to stop, or someone will find out and you'll get hurt." Itachi stood up and looked down into Orochimaru's wide snake eyes, "you don't have weird eyes, Oro. They're yours and you should be proud of them."

Orochimaru stepped back then wiped the tears off his face quickly, "sorry, I-I d-d-didn't m-m-mean t-to…"

"It's fine." Itachi half smiled at Orochimaru, he felt that now things wouldn't be as weird. He was starting to feel that he could trust Orochimaru and even though he knew that his friend didn't know what to do if he had an episode, he wouldn't have to run and hide and that was a big relief.

The rest of the afternoon they studied quietly in their room, the atmosphere seemed more relaxed now. Itachi had explained that the fight had ended with Kabuto unconscious and that he knew how to handle himself. Orochimaru seemed to have relaxed and calmed down, he gave his research notebook to Itachi and said that he would find a new project.

Kabuto stood in the darkest place that he could find, he was in a cluster of trees at the southern corner of the campus. He often came down to "the woods" as the other students called it, he needed time away from people and time away from what his parents considered his job: finding out Uchiha secrets. He liked this corner because it was isolated and the trees seemed to dampen any noise in the area.

Today he was angry, angry at himself, angry at his parents, and angry at the school. He stood in front of a tree and punched it repeatedly, pounding his anger into the rough bark. With every punch more skin tore off his knuckles and soon his hands were purple, swollen, and bleeding.

"Why can't I just be normal!" he yelled into the silence, then fell forward and leaned his forehead against the tree. He didn't cry, he never had, he was raised better than that. His parents would never find out that he had been beaten by the Uchiha, he would make sure of that, if they found out he would be punished for it just like any other member of the triad would be.

He flung himself into a patch of grass and stared up at the sky, he could feel the blood dripping down his hands into the dirt, "why do I have to do this?!" he shouted into the cloudy void, "I don't care!"

There was a distant thunderclap and rain started to pour down from the sky, Kabuto stayed in the grass, the feeling of rain made him forget that he was bleeding. While he was growing up, he'd had no problem working for the triad, he would do anything to get his parent's approval. But now he just didn't care. He was tired of striving to gain favor that he was never going to get. Of course now it was too late, he was in too deep with the triad to ever think about having a normal life. He had thought about it, even if he studied science like he wanted to he had no idea what a normal life was, so he had resigned himself to the fate of becoming muscle for his parents.

It started to downpour and he figured that he should probably get back to the main part of campus. He would be getting a phone call from his father soon enough to see how last night went. Of course there was nothing to report: he had ended up unconscious and saw no evidence of any mysterious eye powers.

He walked up the path, rain soaking into his black t-shirt and flattening down his hair. He saw other students hurrying around under umbrellas or in raincoats, but he just kept walking. When he got to the dormitory he stood outside a while, some kid offered him a cigarette and he gratefully accepted it, he didn't smoke much but he needed one today.

As he was standing there he saw Itachi and Orochimaru leave and head towards the dining hall, all his anger came back and he slammed his fist into the brick wall behind him. What was he going to do next, he didn't want to keep on harassing these guys. Of course, he did want to fight Itachi again. No one, absolutely no one beat him.

He turned and went inside the dorms and back up to his room. His roommate was playing video games, like always, so he went to take a shower. He rinsed off the rainwater and the blood from the night before and from recently. All of his cuts stung. He winced, but he let the feeling linger. He pulled on dry clothes and went back to his room. He did the one thing that he always did when he was upset: read textbooks. There was something about the solid facts that gave him a sense of comfort when he was confused, even though he hated his situation and couldn't figure out how to fix it, he could solve math and science problems. At least they had an answer.

Itachi could feel the entire campus staring at him. It made sense why, you don't usually see a guy who is beat up and injured walking around like nothing happened. A few people asked him if he needed anything and a campus security guard gave him a wary look and followed him and Orochimaru for a few minutes.

They got dinner and sat near the fringe of the dining hall, Itachi pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up so he could cover his face and eat in peace without prying eyes. His phone buzzed and he checked the message. He let out a sigh, "Hidan and Anko are joining us."

"Ok," Orochimaru didn't really care, then he remembered that Itachi had been in a fight. Hidan would definitely react to this, possibly react rashly and without thinking.

"Hidan is gonna get mad." Itachi said, voicing Orochimaru's thoughts.

"Should we tell him?"

Itachi thought for a second, "doesn't really matter, as long as he doesn't go after Kabuto and make himself an enemy of the triad."

Hidan and Anko walked up to the table, they were holding hands. Orochimaru and Itachi looked at each other, they had suspected something was up with the two of them. "Hey guys!" Hidan smiled and pulled up two chairs.

Itachi managed to angle himself so that the majority of his face was towards Orochimaru, "so, are you guy's official now?" Itachi thought of the first thing that came to his mind to talk about so they wouldn't start asking any questions.

Hidan and Anko looked at each other, then Anko turned bright red and she giggled, "Today…"

"Yeah, just a few minutes a go actually, we wanted to tell you guys first." Hidan was smiling and he looked at Anko.

Orochimaru felt uncomfortable, he never was in this situation before, should he say congratulations, should he say anything? "That's cool." He managed to get out.

"it's not gonna be that different, we all hung out together before anyways, so don't think that the dynamic is going to change much, we'll just be sitting closer to each other than before." Anko said.

Itachi continued to eat throughout this conversation, carefully keeping the shadow of the hood over his face, he had almost finished when he felt someone lightly punch his shoulder and he winced.

Hidan scowled, "Itachi, you've been quiet."

"He's always quiet." Orochimaru said quickly, then realized he probably shouldn't have said something so fast.

"Is something going on with you two?" Anko asked, she looked at Orochimaru then over at Itachi's hooded face.

Hidan reached over quickly and tried to pull the hood off, but Itachi blocked him with one arm, wincing again from one of the bruises. Hidan narrowed his eyes. "What is going on that you two don't want us to know about?"

Itachi finished his food and stood up to leave, "nothing is going on, just didn't get sleep because I was sick and I look terrible. Happy for you two, though. I'll be more enthusiastic when I feel better." Then he started to walk away.

Orochimaru quickly finished and grabbed his things so he could follow Itachi out of the dining hall, but Hidan stood up and blocked his way. "Orochimaru, there is something going on with you two. Tell me what it is."

Orochimaru ducked around Hidan, "sorry, we have a project to do and we have to get back to work on it, see you around!" then he sprinted after Itachi.

Anko looked at Hidan, "what is going on with those two? Did you see how Itachi winced? He's hurt Hidan."

"I know, but he's trying to hide it, and that's what's worrying me." Hidan sighed then picked up his bag. "Guess he'll tell us when he's ready. I just hope that's sooner rather than later."

They left the dining hall together then shared an umbrella while walking back to the dormitory. They decided to hang out in Hidan's room and watch movies, but the whole time they were worried about Itachi and Orochimaru.

Itachi had started to sketch since he couldn't handle studying anymore. Orochimaru was reading Wikipedia articles about weird species of reptiles and saying random facts out loud for Itachi to hear. They often did this when they didn't have class work, sometimes they would play music. It was how they relaxed.

Itachi was mid sketch when his phone went off again, the sound almost made Itachi throw his sketch book across the room and Orochimaru almost fell backwards off his chair. A long guttural yell echoed from the tiny speakers followed by a long heavy metal guitar solo.

Itachi slowly picked up the phone, "hello?"

"Itaaaaaaaaaaaaaachiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" there was a small squeaky voice from the other end.

Itachi smiled right away, a full smile which Orochimaru had never seen before. "Sasuke!" he got more comfortable on his chair, "How's middle school going?"

"Eh, I don't really like it, there is this one kid named Naruto who doesn't know anything but still thinks he's smarting than me. And we end up doing all our projects together, it's kind of annoying." There was a pause, "I really like the martial arts classes though! I'm really good! My sensei says that I could be amazing like you some day!"

Itachi's face got serious and he squeezed the phone, "really? When did you start taking them?"

"In September! Dad said that I could start since I was old enough finally! I can't wait to show you how much I learned tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah! We're visiting you at school! I can't wait to see your room."

Itachi inhaled quickly and did a scan of the room, there was nothing his parents would disapprove of on the walls and his things were neat and organized, he relaxed. "Is it just you and mom?" He silently hoped Sasuke would say yes.

"Dad is coming too! He said he needed to talk to you about something. I hope it doesn't take long, I wanna hang out with you! I miss you a lot. The house is more serious when you aren't here, I have to do all my schoolwork before I can play and when dad gets home I have to practice with him."

"I miss you too Sasuke, I have a friend you should meet when you get here. He's excited to meet you." Itachi looked over at Orochimaru who had been watching.

"You have friends?"

"Yes, Sasuke, I have friends. And more than just one."

There was a deep voice in the background, "Itachi, dad wants to say hi!"

"No, wait…" Itachi started to panic, he didn't want to risk triggering another episode, but he mostly didn't want to talk to his father.

"Itachi."

"Father." He groaned inwardly.

"I expect that you have all your studies in order allowing us to spend some time with you." The voice was cold and stern, nothing new there.

"Yeah, I have time." Itachi responded, he started dreading the next day. He wasn't ready to see his father in person, especially right after the fight.

"Good. We will be there at noon. Meet us in front of the student center where we dropped you off."

"Yes sir." He could feel his temper rising, "give Sasuke back the phone."

There was shuffling on the other end and Itachi heard faint voices. He heard his mom and his father talking, then Sasuke's voice came back, "did you find all the pictures I sent you?"

Itachi laughed, "I think I'm still finding them, how many did you hide?" as he said this a picture floated down from the top of his wardrobe.

"Oh, a few…"

"Sasuke, there is definitely more than just a few. There are so many I had to get a box just to put them all in!"

There was silence on the other side and some shuffling around. The voices in the background grew fainter and Itachi heard a door slam, "Itachi… why are you and dad always fighting?"

He sighed, this wasn't the first time that Sasuke had asked him something like this and he had tried really hard not to drag him into the friction between him and his father, but his father had other ideas. "Don't worry about it Sasuke, it's just something that he and I have to talk through."

"But Itachi, I never see you two talk. It's usually him just talking and you don't say anything and then…" he stopped.

"Sasuke, please." He hated the fact that Sasuke had to see the kind of relationship he had with their father, he wanted Sasuke to grow up and live normally, but that path was already starting disappear.

"I think I have to go, mom and dad are calling me back inside, I'll see you tomorrow Itachi!"

"See you tomorrow!" then Itachi hung up the phone. He flipped his textbook back open and started to read again, he wouldn't have time to do anything tomorrow like he had originally planned.

"I-Itachi? Are you gonna be ok?" Orochimaru asked from across the room, he was worried, he never saw Itachi act like he did when he talked to his father.

"I guess I have plans tomorrow, do you mind hanging around? I'm gonna need someone to watch Sasuke for a bit. I... have to talk to my…father." He said the word with disgust. "I'm not sure how long that's gonna take and I don't want Sasuke there." He looked over at Orochimaru.

"Yeah, I think so, I can introduce him to Karin or find Hidan and Anko. I can watch him." He gave Itachi a smile, hoping that it would make Itachi feel better.

There was a knock on the door, then the door opened and Hidan stepped in. Itachi quickly pulled his hood back up and turned out his desk lamp making his corner of the room very dark. Orochimaru slammed his laptop closed, he felt guilty for no reason at all, but he felt that he should direct the attention away from Itachi somehow.

"What is going on with you guys!?" Hidan was exasperated, he didn't like it knowing that there was something that they weren't telling him and they weren't hiding it very well.

"Just…chilling in our room, you know, studying and stuff." Orochimaru said slowly.

"In the dark?"

"Itachi likes to read in the dark, it…is more relaxing and…keeps him from… staying awake all night." Orochimaru was starting to run out of ideas.

"I know you're lying." Hidan squinted at Orochimaru. Then he walked over and put a hand on Itachi's shoulder, he noticed Itachi wince slightly then relax. "You wanna go to the game room? There is street fighter tournament going on."

"No, I think I'd rather study, I have family visiting tomorrow and I need to have the chapter read before then… and I have an essay to write." The essay didn't actually exist, Itachi was trying to make himself sound busier so Hidan would leave.

There was a click and Itachi's desk lamp turned back on. Hidan stood next to it, Itachi couldn't remember him even reaching for the switch. Hidan let out a small gasp and took a step back, "Itachi! Who the hell did this." His face twisted into a snarling frown.

Itachi pulled the hood back and looked at Hidan, "It's not as bad as you think, besides I've had worse. Look, there isn't anything you can do to help, I'd rather you not get involved. It's a bit of a…personal matter." He started to turn back to his textbook, "it's also mostly taken care of. You should see the other guy." He said, then started scribbling notes.

"You know I can't just stand by and ignore this." Hidan was talking through clenched teeth, "who was it."

Itachi ignored him, hoping it would make him give up and leave. Of course it didn't work, that wasn't the kind of person that Hidan was.

He turned to Orochimaru, "it was Kabuto wasn't it?" he punched the door as he said this, making Itachi and Orochimaru flinch.

Itachi was quiet, he didn't want to drag Hidan into this and if he had to get rough then he would. He stood up and faced Hidan, "I fight my own battles, Hidan. I don't need you protecting me." He stared at his friend directly in the eyes.

Hidan met his gaze, "I don't care what you think. This isn't the first time this guy has targeted one of you two and I'm not going to sit back and watch you get beat up repeatedly." There was a long pause as they stood, staring at each other.

"Mind your own business, Hidan." Itachi was making a face that Orochimaru had never seen before, he was snarling and his entire body was tense and he looked ready to start a fight with Hidan right there in the room.

"Why do you isolate yourself so much!? I'm offering you help, it's not a sign of weakness to accept it." he stepped closer to Itachi, his hands were balled into fists.

"I fight my own battles. You're just going to have to accept it." Itachi replied then moved to sit back down.

Hidan reached out and grabbed the front of his shirt, "What is your deal? You're not alone Itachi! You have friends who are here for you, who would fight for you, and care about your well-being! Stop closing yourself off! Yeah, we all have our own secrets, and you can have a private life, but you don't threaten people close to you! You aren't alone!" He was yelling and he pushed Itachi backwards as he let go of his shirt. Then he just stood there facing Itachi, "when are you going to realize it?" Hidan asked, then left the room.

Orochimaru stood speechless, he couldn't think of anything to say. Itachi stood motionless, hundreds of thoughts popped into his brain and started buzzing around. He slowly sat back down and started to do work again, it was best that Orochimaru didn't think that he was upset even though it might be too late for that.

As he worked he started thinking about Sasuke. The poor kid didn't know what was coming for him in the future, he started to feel guilty again for leaving. He had always been Sasuke's shield, protecting him from their father and his ambition, protecting him from getting turned into a monster.

Itachi and Orochimaru worked until about 11:30 then they started to get ready to go to sleep. Itachi flung himself down onto his bed, everything hurt. His head, his arms, his legs, and worst of all his heart. He was afraid that Hidan was right, He had always felt alone, growing up he didn't have any friends, he was trained at home and focused on his studies. Now there were people who didn't just see him as the next head of the family, they saw him as a person. He groaned, this was going to be the longest weekend of his life.

Orochimaru turned out the light and crawled into bed. He was scared, this was a whole new side of Itachi that he'd never seen before, and it was violent and angry. His friend was changing. He was glad that Itachi had told him about his eyes, it still comforted him that he wasn't the only one. He smiled to himself, he was looking forward to meeting Sasuke tomorrow, and the rest of Itachi's family. He sighed, "Goodnight Itachi." He said quietly, but there was no response.

 _A Visit from a Monster_

The next day was unseasonably cold and Orochimaru woke up shivering. He groaned softly, he hated being cold it made him incredibly sleepy. He looked over and saw that the window was wide open, that's weird, he thought. He shivered again then got up to go close it.

"Please don't."

Orochimaru heard Itachi say from his bed. It was still pretty early in the morning so it was no surprise that Itachi was still there.

"I like the cold, it makes me use more blankets and I really don't want to get up." Itachi sounded tired, even though he had gotten into bed at 11:30, he hadn't really slept much.

"Are you worried about today?" Orochimaru asked, he went to the closet and took out his emergency electric blanket. "Aren't you excited that you get to see Sasuke?" Orochimaru plugged in the blanket then crawled underneath and pulled all of his blankets up to his ears.

"I'm looking forward to see Sasuke and my mom, it's everything else that is going to be terrible." He paused, "you remember what I asked you yesterday, right?"

"Yeah, watch Sasuke and hang out with him for a bit."

"Thanks," Itachi was quiet for a time, "I probably should talk to Hidan this morning." He felt terrible about the day before still and he was going to need Hidan and Anko to hang out with Orochimaru to watch Sasuke.

"Probably."

"I don't want to."

"If you keep avoiding him he's just going to push harder next time, you know how he is." Orochimaru snuggled deeper into his warm blankets. "Maybe you should ask him to eat with us or something."

There was a sigh from the other side of the room as Itachi pushed his blankets back and got up. He walked over and closed the window, shutting out the cold November morning. "I'll be back then." He grabbed a sweatshirt and pulled on a pair of socks. He left the room quietly and walked down the hall, most of the other students were still sleeping it was a Sunday after all.

Itachi stopped in front of Hidan's door, then took a deep breath and knocked softly. There was a loud thump and some scrambling from inside the room. Itachi heard whispering, he knew Hidan had a roommate, but he went home on the weekends.

Hidan cracked the door open and peered out. Itachi could tell that he was only wearing athletic shorts. It was odd, he'd never seen Hidan without a shirt on and he could tell that Hidan was very strong but noticed that there were scars all over his torso.

"Itachi, it's a little early don't you think?" Hidan blinked sleepily and started to smooth down his hair.

"It's only 8:30…" Itachi looked back down the hall at his room, "I wanted to…apologize… for yesterday."

"Oh," Hidan opened the door a little farther and stopped leaning against the door jamb. "It's really not that big a deal, as long as you know we're here for you."

Itachi hesitated, "I…I need you to help me with something today."

"Sure, what do you need?" this seemed to wake Hidan up a little.

"My family is visiting today and I need you to help Orochimaru watch my little brother for a bit, I have to talk to my parent's in private." He tried to be as vague as possible.

"Of course I can help! That sounds like fun." Hidan said, then glanced back into his room, "when do you think you'll need me?"

"Sometime in the afternoon maybe?" Itachi narrowed his eyes, there was definitely someone in the room with Hidan. "I thought your roommate went home on weekends?"

"Huh?" Hidan looked back at Itachi, "Oh!" he laughed, "he does, uh, I had someone… spend the night."

The door opened a little father and Anko peeked out, "Good morning Itachi!" she was smiling and waved.

Itachi waved back, he wasn't exactly surprised, "do you guys wanna join us for breakfast? Probably going to head down in an hour or so?"

"Sounds great!" Anko said.

"See you then." Hidan added then closed the door.

Itachi walked back down the hall to his room, he felt a little better knowing that he could depend on his friends to watch Sasuke. He was still dreading what was coming, but he felt a little better knowing that Sasuke wouldn't be around to see it.

When he got back to the room, Orochimaru was already dressed and making his bed, it looked a lot neater than usual as did his desk. Itachi raised an eyebrow at this but didn't say anything. He started to clean his side of the room, making his bed and making sure that all his books were in the right order. While they cleaned they unearthed around 15 more pictures from various places in the room and added them to the box.

Orochimaru fed Karin and then took her out of her aquarium and let her slither around his desk for a while. He sat on his chair and watched her nose her way around pencils and books. "Don't you ever wish that people could shed their skin and just start over?" Orochimaru said out of nowhere.

"Not really, never really thought about it before." Itachi replied as he straightened out some his shoes in the closet.

"I think it would be nice. Every few months you could get a new start. You would still be you and everything, with all the memories and knowledge, but you could have a new body and it would be stronger and better." He reached over and let Karin slither back onto his hand and he brought her close to his face. "Kind of like being immortal I guess."

"Snakes aren't immortal, Oro." Itachi said, he had moved on to his desk and started to brush off dust from the top shelves.

"But they live a long time." He let Karin lick the tip of his nose, then walked over and put her back into her home.

"Orochimaru, why are you so obsessed with snakes?" Itachi asked, it was something he had wondered for a long time.

Orochimaru unconsciously touched the snake tattoo on his arm, "when I was small, not long after…" he paused, "after I moved in with my uncle, I found a small white snake near…a special place. And I showed it to my uncle and he said that it would bring me good luck. I guess since then they have always been special, of course there is always being born with the eyes of a snake."

"Do you know why it happened?" Itachi finished cleaning and sat down at his desk.

"Not really, my uncle told me my mom was bitten by a snake when she was pregnant with me and some people say it was just a mutation. I just know I've always been this way."

Itachi nodded, another person with mysterious eyes. Fate was weird that way, he would have never imagined he would end up meeting someone else who was similar to him. Who could have predicted that he would end up being roommates with the guy?

Itachi and Orochimaru were almost done eating when Hidan and Anko joined them in the dining hall. They were both smiling and holding hands once again. Itachi noticed that Anko was wearing one of Hidan's t-shirts.

"Good morning guys!" Anko said and sat down with her food.

"Hey." Orochimaru said.

Itachi didn't say anything, just looked back out the window at the cold day outside.

Hidan sat down and started eating. He didn't say anything either, but he wasn't upset. He felt a little weird knowing that Itachi knew about him and Anko. He couldn't explain it, he didn't feel judged for it or anything, he just felt that Itachi saw him differently now. Of course it was probably because of the night before.

Pretty soon they were all eating and talking like normal, but Itachi didn't feel inclined to join into the conversation. The time passed slowly as the group finished eating, they didn't want to leave right away so they all just sat around the table.

Out of nowhere a dark figure walked up to them and they all fell quiet. Hidan tensed, Orochimaru looked down into his food and clenched his teeth. Itachi just kept looking away. The only one who acknowledged the new person was Anko, "hi, do you need something?" she asked.

"I need to talk to these three." The voice was hoarse and tired.

Itachi looked at Kabuto, he had dark circles under his eyes, the black eye and broken nose were still very prominent and Itachi made note of the torn up and bruised knuckles. "What do you want?" he asked icily.

Kabuto sighed, he knew that he would regret this later, "I've come to tell you that I'm not going to fight you anymore." He clenched his fists, "I never wanted to in the first place." He stood there, wishing that someone would say something.

Itachi narrowed his eyes, he could be lying to get him off his guard. "There is nothing you can say that will make me believe you." He stood up and faced Kabuto, "you attacked my friend, you stole from me, and you attacked me. That doesn't just stop for no reason, if you want me to believe you better have a good explanation."

Kabuto took in a deep breath, "my parents found out that we would be roommates and they saw it as an opportunity to get the upper hand, so they forced me find out anything I could and to learn about your secrets, they threatened me with not paying for school."

"Why were you late for the semester?" Itachi asked in a cold voice.

"I tried to tell them I wouldn't, but they…don't take no for an answer." His voice faltered, and he flinched at the memory of that week.

Itachi started to understand, they were the same. Pawns being used for their parent's ambition, forced to fight battles and assigned to fates that they couldn't choose. He pushed these thoughts to the back of his head, now was not the time empathy. "You could have killed Orochimaru if Hidan hadn't stepped in, I can't just forgive that." Then he walked past Kabuto towards the exit of the cafeteria. He needed to focus on his parents coming, not on Kabuto. He remembered Kabuto's knuckles, he could tell that Kabuto had already beaten himself up enough about what he had done. He still didn't want to feel bad, Kabuto was going to cause him more trouble with his father than he was already in.

Orochimaru and Hidan remained sitting, neither of them looked at Kabuto. They were unsure of what to do, it seemed like it was up to Itachi whether they could trust this guy or not and Itachi had made it clear that he didn't want anything to do with Kabuto.

"Orochimaru…" Kabuto started, "I…I-I'm sorry, I didn't want to…"

Orochimaru blinked and continued to stare into his breakfast, he wanted to forgive him, he really did. He hated Kabuto because of what he had done, but he had no personal ill will against him.

"Kabuto," Hidan said calmly, "neither of us really know exactly why you did what you did. We know it was never about us, so we can forgive you. But it's Itachi that you have to talk to, he was the one you were trying to learn stuff about. Yeah, you used Orochimaru, you scared him and hurt him, that's up to him to decide whether he wants to forgive it or not." He looked at Orochimaru and continued, "as far as things go on my end, I don't really care. If someone hurts my friends I'll fight for them, if you keep to your word and leave them alone then I won't bother you."

Kabuto soaked this is, then nodded and turned to leave. He had tried, but he understood, he would just have to avoid them as much as possible. He remembered the phone call from the day before, there had been yelling and threatening. He was glad he was at school and not at home, he couldn't get hit over the phone.

"Who was that?" Anko asked.

"Remember on Halloween how I passed out?"

"Yeah."

"That's who did it." Hidan stood up to leave, "we better find Itachi, he seems upset today, I want to keep an eye on him."

Orochimaru and Anko nodded and got up to follow Hidan out of the dining hall. There was an air of foreboding throughout the rest of the morning, Itachi was antsy and kept on opening his textbooks to study, then throwing them off his desk in frustration. Orochimaru tried to calm him down by offering to do yoga, Hidan offered to go and have a skate session with him, and Anko tried to make jokes and be pleasant, but nothing seemed to work.

Itachi leaned against a lamppost in front of the student center. There was one minute until noon. He breathed in deeply, there was a sharp pain in his side and he remembered that he had a bruised rib. He breathed out. He leaned back and looked up at the overcast sky, the weather seemed appropriate, it was cold and gloomy, it couldn't have been more perfect.

He checked his phone again, noon exactly. At the same moment, a small gray car pulled into the parking lot, it pulled into a spot near the exit, a good logical spot for a quick getaway. Itachi saw the back door open and heard it slam shut followed by the sound of feet pounding against pavement, he smiled.

"Itaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaachiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" a small person launched themselves at Itachi.

He caught the figure easily and hugged it tightly. "Sasuke, I'm glad you're here." He couldn't help but tear up a little, he felt whole again now that he was back with his little brother, it felt like he had meaning again, someone to protect instead of thinking about what he had been through. He didn't care that his injuries hurt, he squeezed Sasuke tighter and enjoyed the few moments of peace.

"Itachi, I can't breathe" Sasuke choked. Then he slowly peeled himself out of Itachi's arms.

A man and a woman walked up behind Sasuke, and Itachi put on the best smile he could muster, "mom!" he paused and managed to get out, "father." Then he swallowed, "I'm glad to see you."

His mom smiled and gave him a soft hug, "it's nice to see you dear," she pulled back and looked at his face, concern showing in her eyes, "Itachi, what happened..."

He shrugged, "oh it's nothing important."

His father stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder, Itachi winced. "Itachi, nice to see you."

"Yeah," he turned and started to walk towards the student center, "so, what did you guys want to see first?" he tried to sound cheery, for Sasuke's sake, but he knew he wasn't doing a very good job.

They all walked through the student center, Itachi in the lead with Sasuke who excitedly point out things and ran around then Itachi's parents following, his mom smiling and his father with his usual scowl and crossed arms. They walked down the path past the pond, Itachi remembered the Halloween night fight and took a deep breath, he couldn't think about Kabuto right now.

"You have a pond on campus?!" Sasuke's excited voice came out of nowhere.

"Yeah," Itachi laughed, "though students aren't allowed to swim in it…"

Sasuke laughed, "You must have so much fun here!"

"It's a lot of work too, but having people to work with makes it better. Keep your grades up Sasuke and you can come when you are old enough." Itachi hoped that his words would stick with Sasuke, but there was no way to tell.

They eventually made it back to the dormitory and they all went up to Itachi's room where Orochimaru was scrolling through Wikipedia again. Itachi stepped in, "Oro, I want you to meet my family."

Orochimaru looked up, then his eyes widened. In front of him was a fifth grade kid, a woman who looked really nice and friendly, and a man who was possibly the scariest looking individual he had ever seen. Orochimaru blinked, "uh, hi…" he didn't know why he was getting so embarrassed, "I'm Orochimaru, I'm Itachi's roommate." He waved awkwardly and tried his best to smile.

"Nice to meet you." Itachi's mother said, "You must have a lot to put up with considering Itachi's odd morning schedule," she laughed and reached over to shake hands.

Orochimaru took her hand and laughed nervously, "oh, it doesn't bother me at all, I'm a heavy sleeper." He looked down and saw the kid staring up at him with wide eyes, he went down on one knee so he could look him in the eye, "You must be Sasuke. I've heard a lot about you!" He smiled, so this was the kid who had hidden all the pictures in their room.

"You're friends with my brother!" Sasuke smiled wide then hugged Orochimaru around the neck, "I'm so glad he has friends! Please take care of him!"

Itachi turned bright red, "S-Sasuke…"

Sasuke turned to look up at Itachi, "What? You've never had any before!"

Orochimaru laughed and stood up then put a hand on Sasuke's head, "don't worry about your brother, though he takes care of me more."

There was a cough from the back of the group, "Orochimaru, I am Itachi's father." The voice was cold and stern. "I assume that you study with my son. If I find that his grades suffer because of any distractions-"

"Father." Itachi interrupted, his face was expressionless.

There was a knock at the door and Itachi moved to answer it, when he opened the door Anko was standing there, "Itachi, I was wondering if…" she stopped, then noticed the crowd of people in the dorm. "Ah, I can come back later…" then she turned to leave.

"No, Anko, what is it?" Itachi asked, anything to get some sort of relief from the tension in the room.

"I uh… can't really… talk about it here…" she said and turned bright red, then sped walked back down the hallway.

"Who was that?" Itachi's mom tapped him on the shoulder, "is that your girlfriend?"

Itachi's face turned more red than before, "n-no."

"We didn't pay thousands of dollars to send you to college so you could get a girlfriend, Itachi." His father's voice cut in.

"How about I show you the library now." Itachi said, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible.

"Actually, Itachi, I need to talk to you."

Itachi's blood ran cold, so this was it. There was no avoiding it anymore. He looked over at Orochimaru and gave him a slight nod, "Sasuke, stay with Oro for a bit, he wants to show you what he is learning in class."

Sasuke looked up, his eyes were wide, "I-Itachi…"

"Stay here Sasuke." Itachi turned and walked out of his room, his father followed. They left the dormitory and went to talk next to the pond.

"So what are you studying?" Sasuke looked over at Orochimaru.

"I'm a biology major, so I study animals and humans mostly," he laughed nervously, "uh, do you like snakes Sasuke?"

"They are ok I guess. Why?"

Itachi's mom lingered by the door, "ah, Orochimaru? Is it ok if I wait in the lobby for them to come back?" she sounded nervous.

"Yeah, it's just back down the stairs and to your left. If you'd like, I could ask Anko to wait with you?"

"Thank you but no." she refused, then turned and left without any further explanation.

Orochimaru looked both ways then closed the door to the room, "So, do you want to meet my friend Karin?"

Sasuke gave him a confused look, "sure…"

Orochimaru opened the closet and reached all the way to the back and carefully took Karin out of her Aquarium then brought her over to Sasuke. "She's a grass snake, she is mostly harmless though can be cranky at times. Do you want to hold her?"

Sasuke's eyes grew wide with wonder, "can I!?"

"Here," Orochimaru sat on the floor and motioned for Sasuke to do the same. When Sasuke was seated he gently placed the snake in his hands and watched her slither around.

"So smooth…" He brought the snake closer to his face. Karin stared into one of Sasuke's big black eyes and held his gaze. She slowly slithered forward and gave the tip of his nose a tentative lick.

Orochimaru was amazed, he'd never seen Karin accept a person so quickly, she must like him, just like Itachi, he thought. He let Sasuke hold Karin for a while longer, then she started to get antsy.

"I should probably put her back," Orochimaru said and took her back, then carefully placed her in her aquarium. When he turned back around he saw Sasuke looking out the window. "What are you looking at, Sasuke?"

Sasuke turned back around, "I'm worried. My dad was pretty upset on the way here." His eyes were starting to fill with tears, "I don't want Itachi to get hurt…"

Orochimaru didn't know how to respond, he just stood there and looked down at the kid who was trying his best not to cry. He walked over and knelt down so was eye level with Sasuke again, "it's ok to cry Sasuke."

It was like a dam had been released, Sasuke threw himself forward into Orochimaru's arms and sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder. This wasn't exactly how Orochimaru had pictured spending time with Sasuke going, but what the kid had said bothered him, why would he think that Itachi was going to get hurt?

There was another knock on the door, Orochimaru looked up and saw Hidan and Anko peeking into the room. He gave them a look that said "help" and they quietly walked in. Hidan had his board and Anko had her backpack like they were about to leave.

Sasuke sniffled then looked up and saw the two new people walk in. he quickly wiped his eyes and pretended to smile. "Hi," he said quietly, "who are you?"

"My name is Anko, and this is Hidan. We're friends of Itachi. Are you ok little man?" she smiled and put her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine!" he noticed Hidan's board, "whoa… is that a real skateboard?!"

Hidan smiled, "yeah, you want to try it out in the hallway?"

Sasuke hesitated, "well, I'm not sure if my dad will be ok with it…" then he looked at the board again.

Hidan put his hand on Sasuke's head, "It'll be out little secret. We can have Anko on look out in case anyone comes!"

Sasuke's face brightened, "Ok!" and he followed Hidan and Anko out to the hallway.

Orochimaru stayed back, he was worried about Itachi. He had noticed that he had been acting weird since he found out his family was coming and it didn't make him feel better after he heard Sasuke talk about Itachi getting hurt. He wished he could have followed Itachi and made sure that he was ok. He sighed, then went out to the hallway to catch up to Hidan, Anko, and Sasuke.

Itachi led his father to the far side of the campus pond, he wanted to get as far away from people as possible, specifically out of sight of the window of his dorm room. He stopped walking and turned to face his father who stood with his arms crossed and an all too familiar frown on his face. Itachi breathed out and clenched his fists. "What do you want?"

His father stood and looked him up and down for a few minutes before talking. "I see that you haven't learned how to respect your father while you have been here." He paused and uncrossed his arms. "Tell me about the fight."

Itachi blinked, he figured his father would guess what had happened, at least how he had gotten hurt, "just some Halloween prank, that's not what you came here to talk about."

"You won I hope."

"Yeah, but what does that matter. You told me you would leave Sasuke out of this if I agreed. You lied!" Itachi took a step forward, He could feel himself getting angry, and his control was slipping away.

"It's clear to me that you aren't going to uphold your end of the deal on your current path. You disrespect me, you don't train, you study sh*t like philosophy instead of something that could actually be helpful for what you claim to be your future! I can't have someone who has no discipline and a head full of stuffy quotes at the head of this family! Sasuke is the future for the Uchiha and he will be stronger than you ever could be!" He took a step toward Itachi, "I'm here to tell you that you aren't coming back here next semester."

The words stung, coming to this school had been the closest to freedom that he'd ever had, "You can't control me!" Itachi shouted at the top of his lungs, he was digging his fingernails into his palms so hard that he felt his hands start to bleed.

Itachi didn't see it coming. There was a smack and he felt his neck twist painfully to the side. The bruise on the side of his face throbbed and started to sting. He stood, his hands were still in fists, he didn't make a sound just clenched his jaw and looked down.

"Enough!" His father yelled. His voice sounded like thunder, deep and gravelly. "I pay for your school and I can stop paying for it! You're coming home and you're helping me train Sasuke to be the head of the family!" He stepped closer to Itachi so that his face was a few inches away, "Though I don't know how much you could help train him since you haven't even mastered your own eyes yet. Oh yes, he didn't tell you on the phone but Sasuke already activated his eyes so you can stop trying to prevent it." his father smirked, "at least one of my children has promise."

Itachi reacted on instinct, he reached out and grabbed the front of his father's shirt, "Leave Sasuke alone!" he shouted and he shoved his father away, his face twisted into a snarl and he tensed his body, "I gave you what you wanted! I promised I would come back and take over! But nothing I do is ever enough! I won't let you do the same thing to Sasuke! You said you wouldn't train him, that he could be normal! You stole my life, don't steal his too! And if you can't agree to back off, then I will do whatever it takes to make sure he does have a normal life! You've already created one monster, isn't that enough for you!?"

"You could never be enough!" His father roared, "Sasuke is my son! You say you agreed but you fought me every chance you got! If you had just accepted your fate you wouldn't be permanently scarred, I took care of you! I trained you!"

"Cutting your child's face isn't taking care of them!"

"You had to learn your place!"

"I was 10!"

"Age doesn't matter!"

They were both yelling as loud as they could, all his life Itachi had just accepted the yelling and everything else that his father had done because Sasuke was around and if he had fought back Sasuke would have gotten dragged into it. Now that Sasuke wasn't there he felt like he could finally stand up for himself.

"I'm done with you! You're hopeless! If you want to fight with me so badly then fight me!" His father yelled.

"I'm not going to fight you! If I did I would turn into the monster you are!" Itachi yelled back.

His father yelled and raised his hand again then swung. Itachi flinched, but felt nothing. He looked up and saw a figure standing between him and his father. It had dark gray hair pulled into a ponytail.

"Itachi, are you ok?"

He heard Kabuto's voice, he was so surprised that all he could do was stand there and stare at Kabuto's back. "I-I'm fine."

"Who the hell are you? This is none of your business!"

"Itachi, please leave."

Itachi nodded, he didn't know how this was going to end. He wanted to stay, but he knew that he didn't want to argue with Kabuto, even if he was part of the dragon triad. He turned and started walking away.

"Itachi! Don't you dare walk away from me! If you walk away now I'll make your life hell! You think this will solve everything, but you're still coming home next month and I won't stop training Sasuke!"

He kept walking, he knew it wouldn't solve anything and that it very well make things worse, but he was done. His mom would be worried and of course he would have to try to tell something to Sasuke. He heard footsteps behind him and he started walking faster.

"It's ok Itachi, it's just me." Kabuto's voice was soft. "Don't stop walking, just keep going."

They didn't know where they were walking to, but they ended up behind the dormitory next to the dumpster. Itachi looked over at Kabuto, "why?" he asked, he didn't really know what else to say.

"I don't know," Kabuto slouched against the wall and looked up at the sky, "maybe because you were trying to fight back." He paused then looked over at Itachi, "I'm not a stranger to violent parents, especially controlling ones. The difference is you still could leave, I'm stuck. I can never leave my family or the triad. If I could help someone not have the same fate that I do I would do everything in my power to help them." He looked down at the ground, "you said you didn't want to become a monster, but I already am one."

Itachi was silent, he looked down at Kabuto, "thank you. For helping me, and I forgive you." He turned to go back into the dormitory, "If you ever need anything, you know where my room is." He walked into the building and back up the stairs.

He found Sasuke with Orochimaru looking through Wikipedia, "Sasuke, I need to talk to you."

Orochimaru turned and saw Itachi's face and his jaw dropped open, "I-Itachi… y-you should l-l-look in the m-mirror…"

"It's ok, I already know I look like hell, I don't need a reminder. Sasuke, come here." Sasuke got up and slowly walked over to where Itachi was standing. Itachi knelt down so that he could look Sasuke in the face, "stuff might be different for you at home from now on…"

"Itachi, your eyes…" Sasuke interrupted.

Itachi blinked, "Sasuke I really need you to listen right now."

"No Itachi! Look!" Sasuke reached over and opened the closet door so Itachi was looking straight into the mirror.

He stared, his eyes were red as if he'd had an episode, but he hadn't felt anything. There was no stinging or burning, and no panic attack. He was confused, did it have to do with the extra symbol that had appeared? He had certainly gotten angry enough to trigger his eyes and he had been surprised that he hadn't. He shook his head, he could think about it later.

He looked back at Sasuke, "I'm afraid that dad might get a bit hard on you now. I want you to know that if anything ever happens, if he hits you or hurts you in any way, you call me right away." He looked into Sasuke's wide eyes, "Can you promise me?"

"Y-yes… but Itachi, why would..." He broke off as a figure appeared at the door.

"Sasuke, it's time to go."

Itachi stood and glared at his father. He waited until Sasuke ran down the hall to say goodbye to Hidan and Anko then he stepped close to his father, "If I hear that you have laid a finger on Sasuke, I'm coming home and bringing him back here."

His father turned and walked away down the hall, then descended the stairs and was out of sight. He wished that he could have said goodbye to his mom, but she would know. Sasuke came running back down the hall and wrapped his arms around Itachi's waist.

"I love you Itachi, I'm going to miss you until the semester ends!"

"I love you to Sasuke." Itachi gave Sasuke a long hug, then watched him run down the hall and down the stairs. He had the odd feeling that Sasuke would never be the same again, that this was the last time he would be able to talk to his loving younger brother. He felt tears coming, they slowly trickled down his face and fell to the floor.

He turned and went back into his room. He slowly changed into his shorts and t-shirt and crawled under his blankets, it was only five but he was exhausted. He lay in bed and let the tears crawl down his cheeks, the side of his face was still stinging from being hit, it hurt more than any cut or bruise he'd ever gotten before.

Orochimaru didn't know what had happened but he knew that it had been bad. He left the room and came back shortly after with a paper cup of chamomile tea and put it next to Itachi's bed then grabbed his heated blanket and threw it over Itachi and plugged it in. Then walked over and opened the window. Orochimaru sat down next to Itachi on the bed with a science book and started doing some extra reading. He knew that Itachi wouldn't want to be alone, so he stayed there all night. He fell asleep slouched over his book, one hand resting on Itachi's shoulder.

 _Panic and Snowflakes_

Things never really returned to the way they had been before Itachi's family had visited. Itachi became more distant and more focused on his studies, Orochimaru started a new project that he didn't tell anyone about, and Hidan and Anko spent more time with each other than anyone else.

Orochimaru sighed, nothing would ever be the way it had been before the Halloween party where everyone was happy and relaxed. He still blamed himself for ruining it. It was his project that started this whole mess in the first place. He looked over to the closet where Karin's aquarium was, his new project would be better and no one would get hurt from it, in fact, he was planning on helping people with it. After meeting Itachi's family, even if they weren't a very happy family like he had originally thought, it made him miss his parents more than ever.

He pulled a book about snakes off of his shelf and flipped through it, pausing at a picture of a discarded skin. He could do this, it couldn't be that hard, right?

Itachi walked back into the room and sat down at his desk to study, he didn't even acknowledge Orochimaru's presence. It had been two weeks and his face was almost completely healed now, as well as all the other injuries from his fight with Kabuto.

Orochimaru sighed and looked back down at the picture, yeah he would help people. Then he packed his bag to head to the library, he had trouble being in the same room with Itachi, the air would get thick and tension would build. He grabbed his jacket and was about to leave the room when he heard Itachi speak to him for the first time in a few weeks.

"Orochimaru," the voice was soft, "I…I'm sorry you had to… see everything…" He was looking down at his notebook, but his fists were clenched and his jaw was set.

Orochimaru took a step toward Itachi's desk and put a hand gently on his shoulder, he knew that Itachi wasn't ok and he hated it when Itachi tried to hide it. "It's ok, please don't blame yourself…" he paused, "I started a new project… I think I can help you with it…"

"Don't drag me into your research again." Itachi was quiet but his voice had an underlying hint of anger.

Orochimaru stepped back and winced, Itachi was still mad at him. It made sense. "I'm sorry, I've said it hundreds of times now… I don't know what else I can do, I stopped, and this has nothing to do with you now… I just think you could benefit from it…"

Itachi stared at the wall in front of him, he knew he couldn't take out his anger on Orochimaru and he wouldn't be surprised if Orochimaru stopped talking to him because of it. He breathed in and closed his eyes, "I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from." Then he stood up, "I need to go to the library too, maybe we could study together?" He grabbed his backpack.

Orochimaru gave him a half smile, "yeah. That would be nice." He noticed that Itachi's eyes had changed to red, it had been happening a lot more often since the side effects had mysteriously stopped.

They walked over to the library and found their old spot in the biology section and settled down. The library was warm and quiet with soft yellow lights, it was the most at ease that they had felt in weeks.

Itachi got up to find some more sources and came back with an armful of books on philosophy. He looked over at Orochimaru's books they were about cellular regeneration, snakes, and the theory behind immortality. "What are you studying?" he asked, then remembered their conversation about snakes.

Orochimaru looked embarrassed and then shifted his gaze to the floor, "I'm going to do it Itachi; I'm going to find out how to become immortal." He looked up, "and when I do I'll show it to the rest of the world and no one will ever lose anyone ever again."

Itachi stared at him, he looked incredulous, "Oro… that's impossible…" His friend had gone insane!

"Not as impossible as people think, if there was a way get yourself a new body and you transferred over your consciousness and thoughts, you could just keep changing and then live forever…" He looked at Itachi's face which just got more and more disturbed as he talked.

"But where would you get the bodies?" Itachi asked,

"I thought about snakes and how they just outgrow theirs but no amount of genetic manipulation would make it possible for humans to do that." Orochimaru looked back at his books, "that's what I'm trying to figure out now…"

Itachi sat down with his research and started to flip through books and take notes. Orochimaru was crazy, but he couldn't blame him. Oro never talked about his parents and avoided talking about his uncle as much as possible. He guessed that growing up hadn't been easy for Orochimaru either. "Oro…" he was hesitant to ask, but he needed to know, "what happened to your parents?" he asked quietly.

Orochimaru paused his reading but didn't look up. "They were…they died." He said, then stood up, "I have to go find some more books. I'll be back."

He walked away down the aisle and toward the bathroom. He locked himself in and leaned back against the door. He stopped himself from blinking for as long as he could, but eventually he couldn't stand it anymore, he blinked. The images came rushing back, the blood, the smell of iron, his scream, leaning over his mother's body. He opened his eyes, he was sweating and breathing hard.

He leaned over the sink and turned the faucet on, he splashed water on his face and stared into the mirror. He looked at his face, he leaned in closer and gazed at his big green snake eyes. A spray of blood came from nowhere and splattered across the mirror. Orochimaru jumped back in terror and hit one of the stall doors. He looked at the mirror again, it was clean.

He shook his head, he had to stop thinking about this. He sat down on the floor and realized that he was shaking. "Have to stop. Can't think about it. Have to breathe." He repeated to himself over and over again.

There was a soft knock on the bathroom door, "Oro… I didn't mean to upset you… I'm sorry…" Itachi's voice was quiet. "I won't bring it up again… I guess we are both broken."

Orochimaru covered his face but kept his eyes open, "Itachi, I'm scared. I don't want to die. I don't want to lose anybody else." He said this almost inaudibly, "please don't ignore me anymore, I know you're upset and I know that you want to be alone. But if you're alone, it makes me alone too, and neither of us can make it like that…"

"I know…" Itachi answered from the other side of the door.

"Please don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you, Oro. I'm mad at myself and at…I just can't keep it in very well. Please open the door."

Orochimaru slowly picked himself up and unlocked the bathroom door then opened it and faced Itachi, "I know it was beyond hard for you, and you need time to heal, so please take your time. Just don't shut me out." He hugged Itachi, then pulled away. "I think I need to go find my book now…"

Itachi just stood there and let Orochimaru pass, he hadn't expected that, He thought about Sasuke, he hadn't gotten any phone calls, texts, or e-mails. He hadn't found anymore pictures either. He hoped everything was ok.

He turned and walked back to where they were studying, He saw Orochimaru there already, flipping through another book and scribbling down notes. He might not have Sasuke, but he could do his best to take care Orochimaru. He needed someone to take care of, someone to make him forget about himself.

Itachi and Orochimaru were doing work in their room after lunch, slowly they were once again becoming comfortable in each other's presence. Orochimaru noticed a change in Itachi's attitude, he seemed less burdened than before. Of course, Orochimaru had to keep himself thinking about other things so he wouldn't remember…that night. He busied himself with his research and Wikipedia.

They had been working and relaxing for a while when there was a frantic knock on their door. They looked at each other, neither Hidan nor Anko had visited in weeks and Itachi hadn't seen Kabuto around campus almost at all. Itachi's desk was closer to the door, so he got up and opened it slowly.

Anko came sprinting into the room, she looked panicked. Her hair was messy and it looked like she had picked up whatever she could find first in her room for clothes. She was out of breath and looked about to cry. "Guys! I need you to do something for me! And you can't tell Hidan about it!"

Orochimaru stood up and offered his chair to Anko, but she ignored it and sat on Itachi's bed, messing up the pristine blankets. "Uh, what do you need?" Orochimaru asked, reaching for the tissue box just in case.

"Close the door…" she looked around nervously.

Itachi closed and locked the door, hoping that it would make her feel more at ease knowing that no one could interrupt.

Anko took a deep breath, "I-I need you to get something for me at the convenience store off campus."

"Yes?" Orochimaru tried to get her to say more but she was quiet for a long time. She pulled her knees up to her chest and started to hug them. "What do you need us to get for you?" He started to worry, he didn't know what girls needed…

"I…I need you to get me a pregnancy test…" She turned bright red and tears started to flow. Orochimaru just handed her the tissue box.

Itachi started to look uncomfortable, "um, so…"

"Please… if I go, people will start to talk and… it's hard enough being a girl. I can't risk Hidan seeing me buy it, he'll freak out… I'm freaking out… I can't imagine how it could have happened, we always use protection…"

Itachi gave a panicked look to Orochimaru who looked just as uncomfortable. "um, yeah. We can get you one…" He really didn't want to hear any more about what Hidan and Anko may done or not done.

"So, why do you think you're…pregnant?" Orochimaru asked cautiously, he blushed slightly when he said this.

"It hasn't come yet… I've been consistent since I started having it and now all of a sudden it's not here!" she said between sobs.

Orochimaru looked confused, "What hasn't come yet?" Then looked at Itachi for help. Itachi rolled his eyes at Orochimaru.

"Her period." Itachi said and gave Orochimaru an annoyed look.

Orochimaru turned a darker shade of red, "o-oh… I k-knew that…"

"When do you need it by?" Itachi asked.

"As soon as possible, I need to know before the semester ends." She sniffled, "If I need to tell my parents, I need some time to prepare…" Then started to cry again.

"We'll head out now," Itachi sighed. It was better than hanging around only studying. "Come on Oro, let's go."

Orochimaru looked relieved and grabbed his jacket. "You can stay here if you want to… feel free to use as many tissues as you need." He said and almost sprinted for the door.

Itachi followed after him, "make yourself at home, you can read anything and use Oro's computer if you want." Then he left and closed the door behind him.

They could hear Anko start to cry harder through the door, they looked at each other and started speed walking out of the building, it was best that they got this over with as quickly as possible.

They slowed down when they were out of the building. They started walking down the path that led off campus. Every day the weather got colder and every passing day Itachi thought about what his father had said, that he wouldn't be coming back. It was getting towards the end of November and finals were coming soon, then he'd have to go home and he would never see his friends again. He sighed and pushed this thought out of his head.

"I don't like how cold it is." Orochimaru's voice broke the silence. "Why can't it always be warm and pleasant?"

"I like it when the seasons change, you never know what a new one will bring." Itachi replied, he could see his breath as he talked.

"It's still cold…" Orochimaru pulled the collar of his jacket up higher and buried his nose in his scarf.

Itachi was quiet, he didn't blame Orochimaru for not liking to be cold, he looked part reptile anyways why not act like it too. He sighed, the sun was starting to go down and the sky turned brilliant red and orange, the skyline of the campus was silhouetted black against the bright colors. It was a pretty peaceful evening.

"Itachi…are you going to go back home after the semester ends?" Orochimaru's voice was slightly muffled by the scarf.

He didn't answer right away, he took a deep breath in and breathed out, watching his breath spiral around in the cold air. "I have to. Even if I had somewhere else to go, I couldn't leave Sasuke there alone."

Orochimaru nodded, "well, if you ever need a place to go, you and Sasuke both, you can come and stay with me and my uncle… he doesn't really do anything so he wouldn't mind."

"Thanks Oro. I'll remember that." Itachi looked at him and gave him a half smile.

They walked up to the convenience store, the lights were bright in the windows and it looked warm and cheery. A bell over the door rang as they entered, "Welcome!" there was a bored sounding voice from behind the counter. They looked over and saw a girl with short pink hair reading a magazine at the register. She looked up, then her eyes widened "You!" she pointed at Itachi, "You ditched me!"

Itachi looked confused, "um, do I know you?"

This seemed to make the girl madder, "Ugh! The nerve of some people!" She came out from behind the counter, "I danced with you on Halloween! And you left me in the middle of the dance floor!" she walked right up to Itachi and stuck her finger in his face, "do you know how embarrassing that was!"

Itachi was very confused, "I was about to throw up, would you rather I do it on you?" he thought this would help. It didn't.

The girl's face twisted in rage, "How dare you!"

Orochimaru stepped between them, "sorry, but we're just here to get one thing and then we'll be out of your way," he smiled and tried to laugh it off. He started to nudge Itachi down one of the aisles and the girl just stood there snarling.

They ducked into the aisle with birth control methods and tampons, "who is she?" Orochimaru whispered.

"That's the girl that dragged me onto the dance floor at the Halloween party…" Itachi looked over his shoulder nervously, "I had no idea what she even looked like because I was panicking so much at the time."

"She's kind of cute, you should ask her name."

Itachi gave him a weird look, "why?"

"Because you obviously meant something to her if she remembered you from a month ago."

"I think she's just mad…" Itachi paused and thought about it, she was cute… but was it worth it if he wasn't even coming back? He sighed, he could at least try to make her feel better.

They scanned the shelves and quickly found a pregnancy test, then walked back up to the front of the store. The girl sent them and annoyed look.

Itachi placed the pregnancy test on the counter, "look, I'm sorry I ran away. I honestly didn't even know what was happening that whole time… I don't do the best in loud rooms with lots of people."

The girl looked down at the box on the counter, then she got sad, "its ok. I get it. I hope you're excited to be a father."

Itachi was shocked, "I…. no….it's….."

Orochimaru started laughing, "Don't worry! It's for a friend!"

Itachi turned bright red and started looking everywhere but at the girl, he couldn't think of anything to say.

The girl started to look uncomfortable then smiled shyly, "well, in that case, my name is Sakura." She offered her hand and Itachi shook it. "If it means anything, I thought you were a great cat at the party." She dropped the pregnancy test into a plastic bag and handed it to Itachi.

"Th-thanks…"

"Oh!" she tore the receipt off the machine and scribbled something on the back, "In case you have any emergency convenience store needs and it's closed. My dad owns it so I can get you anything you want." She handed him the receipt and winked.

"Uh…um… o-o-ok…" Itachi was flustered, he hadn't expected this.

"Thanks!" Orochimaru said and started pushing Itachi to the door.

They left quickly and started to walk towards campus again. They decided they should probably get back as soon as possible, for Anko's sanity. The stars were shining brightly around the clouds that started to fill the sky. The air felt icy and Orochimaru shivered.

There was a muffled beep as Orochimaru's phone went off. He checked it, "its Hidan… he wants to know if we have seen Anko around…."

"Tell him we saw her head to the dining hall. That should keep him away from our room for a little while."

Orochimaru nodded and started typing quickly. As he did a few snowflakes fell down from the sky.

Itachi looked up as the snow started to come down, he allowed himself a small smile as he felt the snowflakes land on his face. "I think it's the first snow of the year."

Orochimaru sniffled, "It's too cold, and I think I'm going to get sick from this walk."

"You could at least try to enjoy the night. It's not often that you actually get to be outside on the first snow of the year." Itachi laughed, Orochimaru never seemed to enjoy his surroundings much.

"Snow means cold. Cold makes me sleepy."

Itachi sighed, Orochimaru had a point. They walked back into the dormitory and headed up the stairs. They were just about to get to their floor when they bumped into Hidan.

"Hey guys! Are you sure you saw Anko go to the dining hall? I checked and she wasn't there. She's not answering her phone either." Hidan looked worried, he looked at the plastic bag in Itachi's hand, "where were you guys?"

Orochimaru thought quickly, "visiting Itachi's girlfriend."

Hidan's eyes widened. "When did that happen?" He looked at Itachi for an explanation.

"Uh, yeah. I have a girlfriend…" He looked away from Hidan, "Her name is Sakura, now you know I guess." Then he moved past Hidan, "we have some… things to do. See you around." Then almost sprinted down the hallway. Orochimaru followed closely behind.

They reached the door and knocked softly, "hey, we're back" Itachi whispered. He heard the door unlock and saw it open slightly and Anko peeked out.

"Is the coast clear?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Good." Then she grabbed the bag and sprinted for the bathroom.

"She does know that's the men's room right?" Orochimaru asked, pulling off his scarf and jacket.

"I don't think she cares." Itachi replied then walked into the room.

They looked around, nothing seemed to be out of place. Orochimaru sighed and looked at his laptop. It was open to baby name websites. "She's really freaking out about this, I'm worried." He closed the tabs and brought back up his article on boa constrictors and sat down.

"It's a serious thing," Itachi said, then pulled out a thick novel. He was done studying for now.

"Are you ever going to call Sakura?" Orochimaru asked.

"Probably not. I don't think I'm the kind of person she wants. She's cute and lively, she doesn't need someone…" he didn't want to say broken out loud.

"I don't know, I think you could be cute together. She might bring some color into your life."

Itachi shrugged, he thought it was great that Hidan and Anko worked out, and he knew Orochimaru really liked Dr. Ramona, but he just never thought about it himself. His whole life had revolved around his family and trying his best to look out for Sasuke that he never even considered what it would be like to have a girlfriend.

The door burst open and Anko rushed in, "I'm fine! There was nothing to worry about!" she looked so relieved that Orochimaru and Itachi thought she might start crying again. She ran over and gave each one of them a hug. "Thanks for doing that for me! It means a lot to have friends who won't judge you!" then she paused and made a worried face, "Crap, Hidan is out there somewhere! I haven't answered any of his texts since this morning!" She left the room and pulled out her phone. They heard her walk back down the hallway talking to Hidan.

Orochimaru smiled, he was glad everything had worked out. It was late now and he felt like going to sleep. The cold had made him lethargic and he wanted nothing more than to curl up under his electric blanket and sleep until the next spring. He slowly got ready for bed and turned out the light on his side of the room. He crawled under the covers and closed his eyes.

Almost instantly he was back in his childhood home screaming for his mom to get up. He opened his eyes and saw the dorm room and Itachi sitting calmly reading. He groaned, this was going to be a long night.

 _Drifting Away_

Itachi opened his eyes as he heard his alarm go off. Finals was one week away and he was behind on his philosophy readings, had lab notes to finish, and an art history paper to write. He sighed as he got up, nothing made him not think about leaving like throwing himself into his school work.

He looked over at Orochimaru's bed, it was empty. He was worried, Orochimaru hadn't been sleeping a lot recently. His new project on immortality seemed to be taking up the majority of his time. The lack of sleep had also made Orochimaru odd, he had taken to shutting himself in the library for days on end, skipping classes, and often just staring at Itachi when they studied together.

Itachi shook his head, he was probably just imagining it. He got up and got dressed, as he pulled on his shirt he glanced in the mirror, the bruises on his ribs were almost completely faded now.

As he finished pulling on clothes the door opened and Orochimaru walked in. He looked terrible: he had large dark circles under his eyes and his cheeks were starting to look sunken, like he hadn't eaten in days. He walked in and started to change into fresh clothes.

"Oro, did you get any sleep last night?" Itachi asked.

"No… I forgot." Orochimaru responded without even looking at Itachi.

"How's the project going?"

Orochimaru turned around and smiled, he looked almost crazy, "I'm so close! There is just one part about the mind transfer that I need to figure out and I'll be able to do it!"

Itachi smiled as best as he could, "that's great Oro, will you get sleep then?"

Orochimaru looked away, sadness flashed across his face, "not likely… today is…" then he stopped.

Itachi just nodded his head, his friend had told him nothing. He tried his best to be around and be positive about this new project but he felt like Orochimaru was refusing to tell him something important. It had started when he had asked Orochimaru about his parents. Since then Orochimaru was different, and it was starting to worry him.

"I… won't be in the room most of today…I have to be alone… and… yeah." Orochimaru never finished his sentence, he just picked up his bag and walked toward the door, "I'll see you around."

"Wait! Oro, don't…" but it was too late, Orochimaru had already left. Itachi sighed and pulled out his phone, he could try Hidan or Anko they might be around to study or get food or something. He had pushed everyone away for weeks, but they had always been there for him and he wanted to be there for Orochimaru. "Oro… what are you getting yourself into…" He whispered to himself, then got up to go get breakfast.

As he left the building he saw Kabuto walking down the path, he remembered Kabuto standing between him and his father and took in a deep breath, the end of the semester was coming too quickly for him. He jogged over to catch up to Kabuto, he hadn't seen him since they had talked.

"Hey! Kabuto."

Kabuto turned around and saw Itachi walking up to him, he stopped and let Itachi catch up with him on the path. "Itachi… how have you been?"

"better." He paused, "are you heading to get food?"

"Yeah, you wanna…come?" he was hesitant, stuff had calmed down between them but he still felt like Itachi was a little mad about it, and understandably so.

"Do you mind if I join? Oro is… busy."

"I saw him leave, he looks terrible." Kabuto looked down, "I don't mind if you join me. It will be nice to not having to eat alone."

"Ok." They started walking in silence, they really didn't have anything to talk about. The quiet was making Itachi uncomfortable, walking with Kabuto reminded him of the last time he had seen his father.

"Itachi… how long have you been…" Kabuto didn't want to go on but he was curious, "how long has your dad been hitting you?"

Itachi was quiet for a while. He didn't want to answer, but he felt that he owed Kabuto some kind of explanation. "He's not my dad, he's my father. He's never taken care of me like a dad would."

Kabuto stopped walking and faced Itachi, his face was serious. "How long?"

Itachi looked down, "He gets mad easily, and I'd rather it be me than Sasuke."

"How long?"

"As long as I can remember."

Kabuto sighed, then put a hand on Itachi's shoulder, "Itachi, you need to leave before it gets worse. I know you want to protect Sasuke but I think that's impossible now."

Itachi scowled, "easy for you to say, you don't know what it's like! If I don't go back Sasuke will be forced into that life in my place! I can't let that happen."

Kabuto nodded, "I understand, I just wish I'd had a little brother."

They started walking again, it was a cold morning. Itachi dug his hands deep into his jacket pockets, he hadn't expected to be talking about his home life, especially to someone he barely knew at all.

They continued walking to the dining hall in silence, and continued to say nothing all throughout breakfast. Neither felt like they had anything to talk about. They felt an odd connection, they were both very similar with how they had grown up and the lives that they were both stuck in.

Orochimaru walked into the student center, he had a stop to make before he could start his research for today. He yawned, he hadn't slept in a week, and every time he closed his eyes he saw his parents. It wasn't surprising considering that today was the anniversary.

He walked into the bookstore and looked around, then walked toward the back of the store where they were selling flowers. He picked out the freshest looking ones he could find, they a small balloon in it that read "congratulations". Orochimaru scowled and removed it, then walked over to the register.

The student at the register gave him a weird look then rang up the flowers. Orochimaru returned the look with a scowl then turned and left, today was not a good day to piss him off. He mostly just wanted to be alone.

Orochimaru shivered as he walked out into the cold morning. He didn't know where to go and he just stood in the walkway holding the flowers. He looked down at the ground and saw a large red stain. He screamed and jumped to the side. When he looked back he didn't see anything. He groaned, it had never been this bad before.

He ended up walking around the campus pond into a small clump of trees, it seemed like a good place. He quickly looked around to make sure that no one was watching and noticed that there was one tree whose bark was worn away and torn, he looked closer and saw dried blood. That's odd, he thought, but decided not to think about it.

Orochimaru sat down and leaned against the tree and put the flowers on the cold ground next to him. "Mom…dad… it's been another year." He felt his eyes fill with tears. "I know you'd be proud of me this year, I made a friend…"his voice cracked, "I miss you…you see, my friend has a family and they aren't a happy family like I thought they were. But at least he has someone to care for and someone to look after him." He paused, "I wish you guys had been there…" he sniffled and tears started to flow down his face. "It's been almost 17 years but I still can't stop seeing it, please stop tormenting me! You haunt me all the time, I can't even have friends with parents!" He stopped, suddenly aware that he had been shouting, "I-I-I'm s-s-sorry… I-I don't b-blame you… "

He stood up and put the flowers in the middle of the clearing, then kneeled down next to them, "I'm not going to let anyone else lose anyone, I've found a way to make people immortal and I'm going to try it on myself. I think… I think I found out how to transfer myself to another body. I'm still not sure who I'm going to transfer to, but it has to be someone stronger than me." He looked sadly at the flowers, "I'm weak. I've realized that this semester. I need to be strong so I can help my friends." He stood up and wiped the tears off his face, "I don't know why I look like a snake, but I don't care. All I care about is not losing anyone ever again! And…" he looked up at the sky, "if that means that I have to go around my friend's back, then I'll do it. He'll understand eventually."

Orochimaru got up and started to walk away from the flowers, a cold rain started to fall from the sky, he paused, "I love you. I love you both." Then he looked down and kept walking. He started to cry again as he walked around the pond. He walked to the library, there was a lot he needed to research.

He didn't go to the usual corner that he and Itachi had usually inhabited, it felt wrong to do work there without Itachi, and he knew that he couldn't study this with him around. He grabbed some books on the brain and headed to a dark corner, he pulled over a chair then settled down. He just started flipping through one of his books when his eyes started to flutter.

"no, not gonna fall asleep… can't fall asleep…" darkness started to fill the corners of his eyes, and he could feel his eyes tear up again, "I don't want to see it again…" his eyes closed and fell fast asleep.

He was back in his old house playing in his room, his blocks had always been his favorite to play with. He liked to build things and create things, he liked to stack them really tall and then knock them over. He had been playing for a while and was just starting to get hungry. There was an odd noise from the front of the house, a pop noise, he heard in twice.

"Mom? What was that noise?" He opened the door to his room and walked out quietly. His parents had sent him there because someone had come to the house to visit. He quietly walked down the hall way, if someone was over he didn't want to interrupt, but that noise had scared him.

"Dad? Can I play in the backyard now?" there was silence from the room ahead of him, and he had a growing sense of dread but he couldn't figure out why. He peeked around the corner, he didn't see anyone so he walked into the room. He looked down and he saw his parents face down on the floor. There was a growing puddle of red slowly oozing across the carpet.

"Mom? Dad? What's going on!?" He ran over and started to shake his mom's shoulder, "get up! I'm scared!" Tears started to roll down his cheeks and the red stained his knees, "You can't leave me! I need you!" And he buried his face in in his mom's back.

He remembered the funeral, standing with his uncle next to a small grave in a massive graveyard. The sky had been bright blue and the sun was shining down. He remembered hating the sun, the one day he hadn't wanted it to shine it had come out and been brighter than ever. He hadn't stopped crying since the he had been dragged away from his parent's bodies two days before. He blinked and saw something slither through the grass, a small white snake slowly curled up next to the grave and looked up at him.

Orochimaru knelt down, "uncle, what is that?"

His uncle bent down next to him, "that's a snake Orochimaru, and it looks like a special one. It's not often that you see white snakes around here. It's almost as if he came to bring you good luck… though I'm not sure you have any to begin with." He looked over at Orochimaru.

"It will bring me luck. I know it!" Orochimaru yelled at his uncle, "Nothing can be worse than right now!" angry tears streamed out of his large eyes.

His uncle looked at him angrily, "I told my sister not to marry your father! I told them not to stay in that town! I told them it would only bring trouble!" tears started streaming out of his uncles eyes.

"Uncle…" Orochimaru moved closer to comfort his uncle. His uncle wrapped his arms around Orochimaru's small frame and sobbed.

"They should have listened to me! Now I have to raise you! Orochimaru… Orochimaru… Orochimaru…"

"Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru's eyes flew open. He was back in the library, he had fallen asleep over one of his books. He could feel a hand shaking his shoulder. He looked down at the pages and saw that they were wet with tears.

"Orochimaru, you've been sleeping for hours!" He heard Anko's voice and looked over and saw her standing there holding a coffee in one hand and the other still on his shoulder.

"W-why are you here…" he blinked and sat back. He looked out the window and saw that it was dark. How long had he been here?

"I came to do some studying for finals and saw you come in. you were soaked and looked upset but I didn't want to bother you in case you wanted to be alone… I was about to leave and saw you sleeping but… you were crying." She bit her lip, "Itachi texted me, he said you hadn't been getting much sleep… is everything ok?"

Orochimaru looked back down at the tear-stained pages and smiled, "it will be…"

Anko took a step back, she had never seen that look on Orochimaru's face before, he was smiling but there was a wild glint in his eyes. She shook her head and pretended not to see it, he probably just needed to get some rest.

"It's late, I'll walk you back to the dorms. I have an umbrella so you won't get wet on the way back." She started to put his books into his bag for him.

Orochimaru blinked, then his smile faded away. He was tired, he had to sleep even if he had to deal with the memories. "Thanks Anko…" He got up and picked up his backpack.

"Do you want to get food? You must be hungry."

"No… I don't have an appetite today."

They left the library building and started walking down the path to the dormitory. They walked in silence. The rain made small pattering noises as it hit the umbrella then rolled off and hit the ground. Anko looked over, Orochimaru had changed. No one had noticed it, but something was driving Orochimaru mad.

They reached the dorms and Anko turned to go to her room, "hey Oro… If you ever need anything, you can just ask." Then she walked away.

Orochimaru sighed, he didn't know why people kept saying things like that, he was absolutely fine. He walked down the hall towards his room then stopped. He heard an odd familiar popping noise come from the other side of the door, his face twisted into panic and he sprinted forward and threw the door open, "Itachi!"

Itachi was sitting on his bed calmly reading, he looked up as Orochimaru crashed into the room, "is everything ok?"

Orochimaru stood in the doorway panting, "I thought I heard something in here…" he looked at the floor, "sorry for disturbing you…"

"I don't mind, I was just waiting for you to come back." He paused and looked at the floor, "I wanted to talk to you about your offer…"

Orochimaru was surprised, He put his bag down and peeled of his damp coat, "you mean about staying with me and my uncle?"

"Y-yeah…" Itachi took in a breath, "I don't think it's a good idea for me to go back… I am going to see my family for Christmas, but afterward I can't be there."

"What about Sasuke?"

"I was going to ask him when I went back, he hasn't talked to me since he was here and I'm a bit worried." He closed his book and scooted to the edge of his bed and looked at Orochimaru, "I know it's a lot to ask…"

"Itachi…" His eyes grew wide, "I-I'm glad I can help you!" he walked over and put his hand on Itachi's shoulder, "you'll be safe with me."

Itachi looked away, there was something odd about how Orochimaru was acting. Almost as if he had some plan and everything was falling into place.

Orochimaru looked at Itachi's face, a trickle of blood meandered down from his hairline and dripped off his chin. More blood started coming until Itachi's face was almost completely covered. Orochimaru screamed and jumped back.

"Oro!" Itachi stood up and rushed over to where Orochimaru lay shaking on the ground.

"Stay away!" He scrambled backwards until his head hit his bed frame, "Don't come near me!"

Itachi backed away slowly, he'd never seen Orochimaru like this before, "Oro… what's happening…"

"You're a monster!" Orochimaru's eyes were glazed over and he started sweating and hyperventilating.

The words stung, and Itachi stood up. His face was serious but sadness filled his eyes. He watched his friend start crying and knew there was nothing that he could do. "Oro, don't push me away when you need me the most…" he whispered, then sat on the floor a few feet away. He looked on as Orochimaru hugged himself and cried himself to sleep.

Itachi walked over and lifted Orochimaru into his bed. He pulled off Orochimaru's shoes and his sweatshirt, the draped a blanket over him. He sat on the edge of Orochimaru's bed and watched him sleep, his face was sad and tears were still coming out of his closed eyes. "You were there for me when I needed you, but I pushed you away… I won't let you do the same…" Then Itachi got up and turned the light off, he pulled the blankets and pillows off of his own bed and threw them onto Orochimaru's. He wrapped himself in blankets then sat down and Put Orochimaru's head into his lap. He had done this for Sasuke many times, it had always helped. He hoped it would work now.

Orochimaru's eyes snapped open. He didn't remember falling asleep but somehow he ended up in his bed with blankets on? His head wasn't on his pillow though, he slowly sat up and looked around, moonlight filtered in through the window and in the half-light he saw Itachi sitting near his head asleep, leaning against the wall. Orochimaru was confused, he didn't remember what happened, just his last conversation with Itachi about him moving in.

I'm still in my clothes, he thought. He slowly pushed the blankets back and got up then changed into athletic shorts and t-shirt. He tried to be quiet, he didn't want to wake up Itachi. He walked over to the window and leaned against the frame, he couldn't do it. Not to Itachi, what right did he have to take away what he considered most precious? He punched the wall next to the window.

Itachi sighed and his eyes fluttered open, "Oro…" his voice was soft and groggy, "You're awake…" he sat up. He slowly pulled off his blankets and got up, he walked over and put a hand on Orochimaru's shoulder, "I'm here for you." The he turned around, grabbed his blankets and crawled into his own bed.

Orochimaru turned around so that he was silhouetted by moonlight, "today was the day my parents were murdered." He sat down on the windowsill.

"I'm so sorry…" Itachi didn't know what to say, "How old were you when it happened?"

"I was three." He sighed, he didn't know why he was saying this now. "They were shot. My uncle never told me why, he just said that they should have never lived where they did. Something about paying for security." As he spoke he could see the entire scene happening in front of his face.

"Paying for security? Did you live in a dangerous area?" it was an odd reason to give for someone to be shot, though he'd had heard of it happening before especially with his father's job.

"No, not really dangerous. It was actually not far from here, in a small town. Though my uncle always said it was never safe because of mob activity or something." Orochimaru continued to stare at the floor, trying to think about something else.

Itachi felt an awful sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Orochimaru, where did you grow up?" He didn't want to ask but he knew he had to.

Orochimaru looked at Itachi, the question caught him off guard, "I lived on the outskirts of a town called Konoha. Then when I lived with my uncle we lived in a big city far away from there." He walked over and sat back down on his bed facing Itachi.

Itachi's blood ran cold, "K-k-Konoha…? You're sure?"

Orochimaru squinted, "yeah, my mother grew up in that town."

"Oro…I… my family…it's…" Itachi looked away from Orochimaru, "My family lives there …my father, he runs Konoha…"

Orochimaru stood up, "What are you saying, Itachi?" He could feel tears coming, he didn't want to hear what was coming next.

Itachi couldn't look at Orochimaru, he felt the weight of responsibility fall onto his shoulders like a ton of bricks. "My family… is responsible… for your parent's deaths…" He clenched his jaw and braced himself.

Orochimaru didn't say anything. He looked at the floor and cursed quietly. "Don't joke about this Itachi, it's not funny."

"I-I'm not… I've lived there my whole life… and my father…he controls a massive section of the town… he owns a big business… almost everyone works for him. Oro... I'm so sorry…"

Orochimaru looked up into Itachi's face, he looked betrayed, "y-you were my friend… m-my only friend…" His face twisted with rage, "You were my friend!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. How? How could this be happening? He said that he would be there for him, if he needed anything.

"Oro, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I wish I 'd known!" Itachi started to panic, he could feel his friend starting to slip away.

"Don't call me Oro! Don't call me anything!" Orochimaru was yelling and he stepped closer to Itachi's bed.

Itachi got up, he had to calm him down. "Please! You know my father is a horrible person!"

"How could you do this?" Orochimaru felt his eyes fill with tears.

"It wasn't me! Orochimaru, I can apologize for my family but it's all I can do, I was two when it happened! I had no idea!"

Orochimaru knew it was true, but he was in a blind rage. He took another step forward and grabbed Itachi's shirt, "I never want to see you again." He whispered through clenched teeth.

Itachi didn't try to fight back, Orochimaru had every right to be mad. He didn't even feel like he should try to defend himself, he felt like he deserved it.

"I don't care if it wasn't you, but my parents are dead because of your family. I grew up alone because of your family." He started shouting again, "If I could find a way to make you pay I would!" He shoved Itachi back and stood in the middle of the floor lit up by moonlight.

Itachi fell backwards and hit the side of his head on his bedframe, he saw stars for a second and tried to blink them out of his vision. His head started to throb and he felt like throwing up.

Orochimaru fell to his knees and grabbed Itachi's shirt again, "Why won't you say anything!" the tears streamed down his face and landed on Itachi's shirt. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" He fell backwards and buried his face in hands. "Get out." He whispered.

Itachi picked himself up slowly, nausea was starting to overtake him. He walked out into the hallway and closed the door softly. He leaned back and slid down until he was sitting on the ground. He held his head, the throbbing increased and he felt his stomach do somersaults. He leaned over and vomited into the corner. He managed to crawl to the bathroom before he threw up again. He leaned over the toilet and coughed and gagged. After he finished he staggered to the sink and looked closely into the mirror, he was pale and sweaty and his pupils were dilated, he could just barely see the thin line of his red iris.

Orochimaru started hyperventilating as soon as he heard the door close. He was confused, lost, and angry. He didn't want to hate Itachi, he'd had one friend, only one and that was ruined. He stood and walked over to Itachi's bookshelf and found the notebook that had all of his ocular mutation research. He took it off the shelf and put it in the bottom of his drawer.

He felt no urge to sleep any more, he just sat under the window on the floor and watched the patch of moonlight move across the room. His mind was elsewhere, thinking, planning, and plotting. He had one thing on his mind: Sasuke.

Itachi walked down to Hidan's room, he couldn't spend the rest of the night in the bathroom. His eyes were vacant and he felt numb, he had never expected that his father would rip apart his life without even trying. He knocked on Hidan's door but couldn't stay standing, his head was starting to pound.

Hidan opened the door, and looked out with half closed eyes, He didn't see anyone right away, then looked down and saw Itachi lying on the floor. He looked almost ready to black out. "What the hell…" he whispered, then bent down and shook Itachi's shoulder. "Itachi, what are you doing here…"

"c-c-can I spend the night in your room," Itachi managed to get out, his voice was barely a whisper.

"Yeah, is everything ok?" Hidan was wide awake now.

"It's fine…" Itachi replied and tried to pick himself up, "I just hit my head…don't want to wake him up…" He lied, he could never tell Hidan.

"Alright." Hidan helped him into the room and threw a spare blanket and a pillow onto the floor. "I'll take the floor." Then he helped Itachi get into the bed.

Itachi didn't fall asleep, He lay there trying to not think about his throbbing skull. He started to hate his father more than he already had before. He could feel it grow inside of him and fester. Then he thought of Sasuke, and his young face and how much Sasuke had to look forward to. He would be going back home, and he would have to figure out something. But he couldn't leave Sasuke.

 _No Longer an Older Brother_

It had been a week since Itachi left campus and he still wasn't used to being at home again. He woke up before his alarm and just lay in bed staring at the ceiling. He thought about leaving the school and having to say goodbye to his friends. He had made sure to say his goodbyes before his father had shown up with the car.

He didn't sleep in his dorm room the rest of the time he had been at school, and he had avoided Orochimaru as much as he could. They had finished up their lab hours and class time in silence. He had slept in Hidan's room and spent most of his time alone in the library. When his finals had finished he would go back to his dorm only when he knew Orochimaru wasn't there and packed his things. While putting his books into a box he noticed that Orochimaru's notebook was gone. He had sighed and ignored it.

He had found Anko and Hidan in the Dining hall and said goodbye to them the morning he left. He told them that he wasn't coming back and they were both pretty sad about it. They said they would text him and come visit but Itachi didn't really think they would.

While walking back to the dorm he bumped into Kabuto and told him thank you again. They talked for a few minutes and then Kabuto walked on, he had acted odd and distant. Itachi didn't think anything of it, news had seem to spread through all his friends that he and Orochimaru weren't talking to each other, though no one knew why.

While he was packing he ran out of space. He had walked down to the off campus convenience and bought an extra canvas bag for books. He bumped into Sakura there, it had been almost refreshing to talk to someone who was unconnected to the whole situation. He told her that he wasn't coming back and she seemed upset by this. She hugged him before he left the store and told him to call her any time for anything.

He had seen Orochimaru on his way off campus, his father helped him carry his bags and boxes to the car and they saw him walking down the path. Orochimaru had glared and stared as they walked past. Itachi couldn't make eye contact and he felt a lump rising in his throat. He remembered all the study nights, hanging out in the library, having meals and hanging out with Hidan and Anko, how Orochimaru had been there when he was hurt, when he had watched Sasuke, and most of all the first day they met: his smile, the way he had persisted on talking to him even though he had acted annoyed. He felt tears coming and he quickly looked away from his father.

Itachi's alarm went off and he sighed. He rolled over and turned it off, then swung his legs over the side of the bed. It was a cold December morning, almost a week until Christmas. It hadn't snowed since the night he had walked to the convenience store with Orochimaru. It hurt to think about.

He got up and crossed the hall to Sasuke's room and knocked softly on the door, "Sasuke, it's time to get up. Don't be late for school." Then he went down the hall to the living room. His parents were already awake and eating breakfast. He made himself tea and toast, then sat down at the table. No one said anything, that wasn't strange. His dad was quiet and he was quiet, and his mother almost never said anything without being spoken to first. Itachi remembered the loud meals in the dining hall and joking with his friends, he closed his eyes and sighed.

"Does your head still hurt?" His mother asked, as soon as he had gotten home she had sent him to bed because he'd ended up with a concussion from Orochimaru pushing him. When they asked, he refused to tell them how it had happened.

"No." He finished his food quickly and got back up, he didn't want to talk about it.

"Are you ever going to tell me how it happened?" she asked

"Yes, how does a healthy young man trained in almost every style of fighting mysteriously get a concussion?" His father added, he didn't even look up from the paper.

Itachi didn't respond and just walked back to his room. He pulled on jeans and a long sleeve shirt, boots, and grabbed a heavy coat. He walked across the hall again and knocked loudly on Sasuke's door, "Sasuke, it's almost time to go and you still need to eat."

"I'm coming." An annoyed voice responded from inside the room.

Itachi had been right when he thought that Sasuke would never be the same, he had come home and Sasuke had looked at him like he wanted him dead. Even though he was only in fifth grade, he was excelling in his martial arts classes and all his father's training. Itachi had guessed that part of this training was to convince Sasuke that he was his enemy, because that was how Sasuke treated him. Regardless he still had to walk him to school.

Itachi waited by the front door, and not too long after Sasuke dragged himself over. He looked tired and worn out, but still angry. They left the house and started to walk down the street.

"Sasuke…"

"What do you want?"

"What did father tell you about me?" he asked every morning, but he never got an answer.

Sasuke was quiet for a bit, then looked up at his older brother, "you want to make sure that I never have more power than you. You told dad that you wished I never awakened my eyes. Dad told me I would be the head of the family and that you hated it because I was the younger brother."

Itachi didn't respond, they were standing outside of the school now, and nothing that he could say would ever change Sasuke's mind. "Have a good day at school."

"You aren't even going to try and argue with me?" Sasuke looked confused.

Itachi looked down at his little brother, into the eyes that you used to look up at him when they were scared, "That's the funny thing about our father, he's right. I wish you had never awakened your eyes. But it's not because I think you're stronger, I just never wanted to drag you into the family… business."

Sasuke frowned, "you still don't want me to be the head of the family."

"I never wanted you to have to bear that burden. But father lied to me."

"He's your dad, Itachi. Why don't you ever call him that?" Sasuke looked away.

Itachi didn't answer, he pat Sasuke on the head then turned and started walking home. He thought about what Sasuke had told him. His father was clever, he had turned Sasuke against him by lying about him. It didn't matter, he would still do everything he could to prevent his father from controlling Sasuke.

As he walked he looked across the street, something caught his eye. He saw a familiar figure walking down the sidewalk. He couldn't see the face, but the posture looked familiar and the way they had carried themselves. He turned around to try and get a better look but they were gone. He shook his head, he couldn't start seeing things.

When he got home, he kicked off his boots and hung his coat up on the coat rack by the door. His mother had gone to work and his father was the only person there. As Itachi walked in his father looked up from doing work at his desk, "Itachi, you start training again today."

"Yes sir."

"You're more agreeable than usual."

Itachi closed his eyes, he didn't want to be in the same room with his father, "there is a time and a place to fight, it's not here and it's not right now." He walked back to his room, he'd have to brush up and prepare.

His father followed him to his room, "I noticed your eyes changed, you don't have episodes anymore." He almost sounded caring.

"Yeah, so?" Itachi changed into a t-shirt.

"It's time you started to learn how to use your eyes." His father turned and left after saying this.

Itachi sighed and pulled his hair back half up half down like he had seen Orochimaru do countless times when he was studying. He sat down on his bed and stared into space, he felt like nothing had changed since he left. His father was still the same. His situation hadn't really changed, the only difference was that now he was stuck, his only choice was to stay and become whatever his father had planned for him to be.

He got up and left his room then headed down the hall and down a set of stairs into the basement. The basement was converted into a training space: one half had exercise machines and the other was an open space for sparring. That's where his father was standing.

His father tossed a two rolls of bandages at Itachi who caught them easily. He started to wrap his hands tightly, this was the one place where he was officially allowed to fight his father without consequences. He stepped onto the mats and faced his father.

"It's time to tell you about your inheritance: the sharingan of the Uchiha family." His father looked across at Itachi, "you already know about it, you have heightened observational skills and quick reflexes. But the fact is that it's a well of unknown potential." His father closed his eyes then opened them, revealing red irises. "You have yet to learn how to activate them on your own, unlike Sasuke."

Itachi snarled, he just wanted to attack, he didn't need the family history lecture. "Let's just get this over with."

"Excited to start today?" his father raised an eyebrow.

"Just ready to finish this." Itachi replied and got into a fighting stance.

"Glad to see you haven't lost your form while you were gone." His father laughed, "But you will never beat me, athletics was never your strong point. That's the difference between you and Sasuke, he is actually talented at fighting. You… you just copy what you see." Then he attacked.

Itachi yelled and threw himself into sparring. It was the first chance he'd had to release his anger and hurt since that night with Orochimaru. It felt good for a little, then his father started winning. Itachi ended up on the floor with his father standing over him.

"Funny how things always seem to end here." His father smirked and started to unravel the bandages from around his hands. "We're done for today." Then he walked away.

Itachi picked himself up and started to undo his bandages as well. "You lied to Sasuke about me." He let it slip out, he hadn't meant to say it but it had escaped.

"It had to be done. You're dangerous." His father replied calmly, "besides, I can't have you winning over the heart of the hope for our family. You would fill his head with your philosophy and ideals."

"Is it bad that he would know how to think and reason?" Itachi turned around and faced his father.

"He doesn't need those skills. All he needs is what I can teach him." He stepped close to Itachi, "obviously what I taught you didn't stick very well."

Itachi took a step backwards, there was no one here to intervene if anything happened, and he didn't want to start anything.

"What? No come backs today? No smart ass quotes to shove down my throat?" he smirked, "maybe you did learn something at school." Then he turned and headed to the stairs.

"You killed my friend's parents."

His father stopped. "Itachi, don't try and pin the actions of my men to me."

"You had them killed. It doesn't matter if you pulled the trigger or not, you still made that decision." Itachi stood and glared at his father.

"When you are in my position a lot of people hate you, if you think I'll start caring just because you decided to befriend one of them you have another thing coming." He turned around to face Itachi, this had never happened before, usually Itachi was only trying to protect Sasuke.

"That's what you want Sasuke to become? Someone hated by everyone, who doesn't care if he ruins people's lives?" He raised his voice, he had to fight for this, for Orochimaru.

His father walked back towards him. "Why can't you have this much drive when you are training? If you did, you might be able to be an even match for me."

"I asked you a question. Do you want Sasuke to become what you are?"

"Yeah. He has killer instinct, I can see it in his eyes, he knows that one day he will have power and strength and he will take my place." He paused, "and you'll be there next to him, protecting him from people who don't understand."

"No. I'm not." Itachi clenched his fists. "I don't want to be part of this! You already dragged in Sasuke, I did what I could, but you dragged him in anyways. You have to choose one."

"You can't leave and you know it. Anywhere you could think of going I can find you and drag you back. You were born into this family and born with your eyes, even if you want to leave, I'm not letting you take those eyes anywhere I can't keep track of them."

"I hate you."

His father raised an eyebrow. "Oh please, Itachi. Don't act like a child."

"You had my best friend's parents killed. I can't just let that go."

"What do you want me to do? Write an apology? If they were killed it was probably for a good reason. That's just how this business works." His father was starting to get annoyed.

Itachi didn't say anything. He didn't know what else to say, he remembered Orochimaru's face when he found out, how betrayed he looked, how broken his spirit was. "You ruin people's lives! You don't even think about it! You just wave your hands and get rid of something you think is a problem, well those problems are people and they have lives and children! How can you just calmly order someone to die and not think twice about it!?"

His father punched him in the jaw. He felt his teeth crunch together and he could feel his neck strain. He staggered back and wiped blood off his lip. He straightened himself and looked back at his father, "You stole my friend's life away! And for what? Not paying you in time? How do you live with yourself!?"

He got punched in the stomach next, it knocked the wind right out of him and he fell to his hands and knees. He coughed and wheezed. "I hate you. I hate everything you do. And most of all, I hate this family." He managed to say between gulps for air.

His father leaned over and picked him up by the front of his shirt, "waiting until we are done training to actually fight is just playing dirty, Itachi." He pushed him into the wall, "feel free to hate this family as much as you'd like, but that isn't going to change anything, you have no friends to save you here, so watch your mouth." He let go of Itachi's shirt and watched his son fall to the ground then he turned and started to walk up the stairs, "once you're done sulking, don't forget to pick up Sasuke at school." Then he was out of sight.

Itachi stayed on the ground a long time. Everything hurt, especially his jaw. He was surprised that he could still talk, of course his father probably was too. That was usually where his father hit first hoping that it would make him shut up. He would tell his mom that he had gotten hurt sparring, and that would be that. He leaned back and thought about Orochimaru, there was nothing he could do to make it up to him, he couldn't even make his father slightly upset about it.

He pulled himself up and went up the stairs; his father was nowhere to be seen. At least he wasn't around. He walked slowly to his room and grabbed a towel then went to the bathroom to shower.

He let the hot water spill over him and he tried to relax, but it didn't work. He felt trapped between wanting to leave forever and knowing that he couldn't, and knowing that it was his duty to stay and work for his family and that he had promised that he would. He looked at his torso, he saw a fresh bruise forming. Welcome home, he thought.

He stepped out of the shower and pulled on clothes. He was about to leave when he remembered the long lecture Orochimaru had given on combing his hair. He sighed and started tugging at the knots with his mom's comb. He missed Orochimaru, he missed having a friend. When he figured he had gotten the majority of the tangles out of his hair he walked back to his room and threw himself onto his bed. He soon fell fast asleep.

Orochimaru walked down the sidewalk quickly, it was almost three fifteen. It was almost time. He pulled his jacket closer, he hated December, it was cold but everyone seemed to be happy about it. It was weird being back in Konoha, he had never considered it his hometown since he was only there for about two years, but as he walked he got sad. His mother had lived here, had grown up here, had given birth to a child here, and she had also died here. He scowled, he had trained himself to not think about that night, though he still saw things sometimes. He had seen Itachi earlier and it had almost caused him to start seeing things again.

As he neared the massive brick building he started seeing minivans and parents all standing around. He wouldn't really blend into this crowd very well. He sighed then tried his best to mix into the group. He felt his phone vibrate, he quickly answered it, "Are you watching?"

"Yeah," the voice on the other end sounded unsure.

"You don't have to do anything, just make sure I'm not interrupted." Orochimaru was slightly annoyed.

"I just…it doesn't feel right." The voice was quiet.

"You send you wanted to help me with my project, this is the first step." Orochimaru answered sharply, then hung up the phone. He had one minute. He pulled a vial that contained a small snake out of his pocket and checked it, when it saw him it hissed and tried to bite him. He smiled, perfect.

There was a loud ringing as the school bell signaled the end of the day and the front doors opened. A flood of middle schoolers poured out of the building and Orochimaru craned his neck and started looking, then he saw him. He waved, "Sasuke!"

Sasuke looked over confused, wasn't Itachi supposed to be here? Why was that guy here instead? He shrugged and walked over to where Orochimaru was standing. "You're one of Itachi's friends, right?"

"Yeah." Orochimaru looked down at the kid.

"Where's Itachi?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"He's busy, so he sent me to come get you." He lied, and hoped that Sasuke believed it.

Sasuke sighed, "I should have guessed. Let's go." Then he started to walk down the street.

Orochimaru smiled to himself and followed Sasuke.

Itachi opened his eyes and checked the time on his phone, it was 3:20. He sat bolt upright. "Crap. I'm late." He said, then ran out of his room and threw on his sneakers and grabbed a sweatshirt, the first thing he found close by. He left his phone on his bed and ran out the door.

As he left the house he sensed that something was wrong, he looked across the street and saw a figure just watching his house. He scowled, he didn't have time for this. He jogged over to go to tell the guy to get lost.

As he got closer, the figure started to look familiar, "Kabuto?" he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Itachi…" Kabuto looked at him and saw the dark purple bruise on his jaw. "He hit you again." He knew he shouldn't be talking like this.

"Hello to you to." Itachi replied then started walking down the sidewalk. "I have to go pick up my brother, you wanna come?"

"Sure…" Kabuto started to panic, he didn't want to do this. He knew that Orochimaru would help him, but Itachi was his friend. He sighed, he had to get this over with. "Itachi. You aren't going to pick up Sasuke today."

Itachi turned around, "why not?" his eyes narrowed and he watched Kabuto crack his knuckles and stretch his neck. His blood froze, "are you here to fight me again?" he spat.

Kabuto said nothing, just lunged at Itachi. This time Itachi was ready, even though he was still sore from earlier that day, he was still relatively warmed up. He dodged Kabuto's first attack with ease and landed a hit on his friend's ribs, causing him to stop for a breath.

"Why are you doing this? Are you mad about last time?" Itachi was confused, he had thought that Kabuto had changed. "I thought you said you were done with this?"

"I am, I stopped working for my family, and I found a new boss and he's more reliable." He attacked again, this time he managed to get through Itachi's block and hit him on the shoulder.

Itachi had forgotten how hard Kabuto hit, he felt his shoulder dislocate and fall limply at his side, He yelled in pain.

Kabuto took this opportunity to kick Itachi's knee and he fell forward onto the pavement. He had just enough time to pop his shoulder back into place and roll away before Kabuto came at him again. His knee hurt, but at least it still worked.

"Besides, Itachi, I hate losing. It always pissed me off that you beat me." Kabuto sneered.

"Who are you working for? Why are you attacking me?"

Kabuto made another rush at Itachi who dodged it. Itachi attacked and landed Kabuto on his back, then he put a knee right under Kabuto's sternum and pinned him to the ground. "Who are you working for?"

Kabuto smiled, "wouldn't you like to know." He struggled to get up, but Itachi just pushed harder.

"Why are you doing this?" his face was stern, he needed answers.

"You're too late, I did my job, It should be done by now."

Itachi felt the blood drain from his face, Sasuke. He looked back at Kabuto, then punched him in the side of the head, knocking him unconscious.

He jumped up and started to sprint down the street, he had to get to Sasuke's school. He approached the brick building and saw a smallish figure in a long black coat standing next to a small kid. He grit his teeth and ran faster, he couldn't be too late.

As he got closer he saw Sasuke was talking calmly to the figure, why didn't he look scared? "Sasuke! Get away from him!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Both the figure and Sasuke turned and looked at him. Then he saw the figure's face. "Orochimaru…" he stopped mid stride, "what are you doing here?"

Orochimaru looked him up and down, "I guess you are still stronger than Kabuto after all, I did wonder."

"What are you doing?" Itachi asked, he quickly checked Sasuke, he looked fine at the moment.

"Just bringing my research to the human trials." Orochimaru replied, a cruel smile played at the corners of his mouth and he started to laugh. Then he reached over grabbed Sasuke's shoulder and pinned on of his arms behind his back.

Itachi lunged forward, but Orochimaru just pushed Sasuke between them. Itachi stopped.

"Itachi… what's going on?" Sasuke sounded scared and he looked at Itachi with his large black eyes.

"Sssh Sasuke, nothing to worry about, just a small pinch and it will all be over." Orochimaru cut in before Itachi could say anything. He pulled the vial out of his pocket and opened it, letting the tiny snake wrap itself around his finger.

"Orochimaru, whatever you're doing, just stop it. Don't drag Sasuke into this, you know this is just between you and me."

"I disagree with that, Itachi. Sasuke is part of your family isn't he? What a shame it would be if something were to happen to him."

Sasuke's eyes started to fill with tears, "Itachi…" then his face changed to shock, "Itachi! Watch out!"

Out of nowhere an arm clamped around his neck and twisted one of his arms behind his back. "You think I can't take a hit and not get back up?" Kabuto said in Itachi's ear.

"Well well, it seems like we are all here." Orochimaru laughed, then he dropped the snake down the back of Sasuke's jacket. "Itachi, you get to witness your baby brother gain more power than you could ever dream of. You see, I plan on becoming immortal, but for that I need a body to move into when this one wears out. It takes some planning so that I'll be ready with a young and strong vessel when the time comes."

Sasuke started to squirm as the tiny snake moved across his skin, then he yelled. Orochimaru smiled, "don't worry, the snake will die now that he has served his purpose."

"Orochimaru! You're insane! Leave Sasuke out of this!" Itachi struggled against Kabuto's grip.

Orochimaru walked up to Itachi and his green snake eyes locked onto Itachi's red eyes, "You always talk about wanting to protect you little brother, but now I see why your dad hits you so much, you don't seem to be very good at your job."

Itachi screamed and broke free of Kabuto's grasp and lunged at Orochimaru. He tackled him to the ground and clamped his hands around his friend's throat. "Is this what you wanted!? Revenge!?"

Orochimaru managed to smile, "it's everything I wanted."

Itachi paused, he hadn't expected to hear this.

"Everything I wanted and more. I was going over my notes and doing more research. Your family's eyes are powerful and I want them."

Itachi felt his blood run cold, "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into!" he started to squeeze Orochimaru's neck, "I trusted you! I said you were my friend! And this is how you act?" he looked over at Sasuke, he had gone pale and was starting to look like he was going to faint. Itachi looked back at Orochimaru. He pulled back his arm for a final blow when he felt Kabuto grab him from behind and throw him off Orochimaru. Itachi skidded and rolled across the pavement, then tried to stand up. His legs felt wobbly. He looked at Sasuke again, he was lying face down on the ground.

Kabuto helped Orochimaru up then they started to run. Orochimaru looked back and saw his friend struggling to stand, his face was all cut up and he looked broken. He smirked, but deep down inside he felt an ache. One tear slid down his face, then he turned around and followed Kabuto down the street and disappeared.

Itachi managed to limp over to Sasuke and pick him up, then he slowly walked home carrying his little brother's body. He inwardly cursed himself for forgetting his phone, for trying to defend Orochimaru in front of his father, and for sleeping late.

When he got home his mother rushed to the door and grabbed Sasuke. Both his parents rushed him to his room and called a doctor. Neither of them had even noticed Itachi, but he was used to it. He slowly limped to the bathroom and grabbed a first aid kit and started to patch himself up. He felt hot tears roll down his cheeks, Orochimaru had betrayed him and used him. He could feel anger growing in the pit of his stomach as he applied bandages to his cuts. No, he thought, he couldn't act irrationally about this.

He walked down the hall and hovered outside Sasuke's door, his parents were both next to Sasuke's bed. His mother was crying and his father just sat silently. Itachi turned and went into his room. Orochimaru said this had been a long term plan, which meant that he had some time to work with. Sasuke wasn't going to die, but he would never be the same after this. A plan started evolving in Itachi's head, it was long and it was complicated. Sasuke would never forgive him for it. But it had to be done.

Itachi closed his bedroom door, the first step would be to change, to train hard and become stronger, if he had to fight Sasuke to be the head of the family, then he would and he would be stronger than ever. He would find out all of the secrets of the sharingan and he would use them. He looked into the mirror, he was done being Sasuke's protector, now he would become the only thing left for him to become: Sasuke's enemy and Sasuke's motivation.


	2. Chapter 2

There was a loud crack as Itachi's back slammed into the floor. He rolled to the side in time to avoid a kick aimed at his head then picked himself up and met his opponent's eyes. The red irises glistened back at him, almost mocking him. He yelled and threw himself forward attacking with all his strength. He landed one punch, he felt a shoulder joint buckle then dislocate. He felt this and smiled to himself then attacked again with a sweep kick bringing his opponent to his knees. He went in to use a headlock but felt an explosion of pain in his side. The next thing he knew he slammed against the wall and slid to the floor.

"Better." The voice was stern and cold, "but you'll need more than simple strikes to beat me."

Itachi sighed and closed his eyes, he had been so close. "I'll remember that for next time, father." He picked himself up off the floor and leaned against the wall with one hand, the last blow had been hard. "Again."

His father looked at him, it was one of the rare times where he didn't have anger or spite in his eyes, "Itachi… we've been going at it for hours, get some rest for tomorrow." His son had changed, he didn't fight anymore. It had started the day Sasuke was attacked mysteriously, though Itachi had never told him exactly what had happened.

Itachi looked down then nodded. "Whatever you say… father" he said the last word with disgust, he still hated his father more than anything else, but that needed to be put aside for now, for Sasuke's sake. He walked up the stairs then went to his room, it had been a month since that day. He quickly showered and changed out of his exercise clothes into jeans and a t-shirt.

He sat down at his desk and pulled out a thick book. He tried to read, but like most days his mind wandered off. He thought about the look on Orochimaru's face as he had squeezed his throat, how he had still managed to smirk. Had he really hated him that much? Was it possible that one thing could totally rip them apart after all they had been through? He shook his head. He had to focus on Sasuke and make sure that he wasn't attacked by Orochimaru again. Of course, Sasuke was a separate matter in himself. He had been unconscious for a week after the incident and woke up groggy and confused. Itachi sighed, Sasuke had blamed him of course. He had overslept and been late to get him.

Itachi closed the book then leaned back in his desk chair and stared at the ceiling, he wished that Orochimaru was here, that he was reading Wikipedia articles about reptiles and making small talk, he wished that Hidan and Anko would burst into the room and drag them both into some wild adventure on campus, he even wished Kabuto was there. A single tear slid down his cheek, there was so much he wished hadn't gone wrong, and that he blamed himself for.

A quiet knock on the door dragged him away from his thoughts, "Who is it?" he didn't feel like seeing anyone at the moment.

"Sasuke." The voice was quiet and hesitant.

"Come in." Itachi replied, then set his jaw and stood up.

Sasuke cautiously opened the door, then stepped in closing the door behind him, "Dad said you were done training for the day…"

"So?" Itachi looked down his nose at Sasuke's face, "do you need something?"

"I was hoping we could hang out…dad said he was too tired to train with me today and I have nothing to do now…" Sasuke looked uncomfortable, he hadn't spoken to Itachi in weeks.

"I'm busy." Itachi turned around and sat back down, opening up the book again.

"You're lying. You never do anything." Sasuke was starting to get irritated.

Itachi squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists, "get out of my room."

"Fine." Sasuke turned to leave but paused in the doorway, "you used to be fun." Then he slammed the door shut.

Itachi relaxed and felt tears coming again so he put his head down on his book. The hardest part of the whole situation had been his father ripping Sasuke away from him and making them enemies. He hated acting the part and with all of his heart he wanted to take Sasuke and leave Konoha forever. He had to push Sasuke away for his own benefit, now that they were competing for head of the family Sasuke wouldn't accept his help anymore.

He unconsciously touched a dark purple bruise that had formed on his right forearm, that morning had been bad. He thought that if he had started being the perfect son and not talking back, that if he just stayed quiet and obeyed then his father would stop getting angry. He had been wrong. Instead all of the anger shifted from him onto Sasuke. Itachi slammed his fist onto his desk. Nothing was turning out right.

He stood up and grabbed a jacket then pulled on socks and sneakers. He left his room and walked down the hall to the front door.

"Where are you going? It's almost dinner time?" his mom's voice came from the kitchen.

"out." Itachi left quickly, he needed to be out of this house and away from all the politics and underlying tension. He walked down the sidewalk toward the center of town, they didn't live that far away from it, considering that his father owned the majority of the small businesses in Konoha. He looked up at the dark sky, no stars were visible under the streetlights. He breathed in the cold January air and let it fill his lungs, then winced. He had forgotten about his side.

He walked past a small pet shop and saw snakes in aquariums along one of the shelves. Oro, he thought, why did your parents have to live here? He looked away.

A figure walked up next him, then stopped. "A nice night for a walk don't you think?"

Itachi looked over, a man about his size with spiky yellow hair stood next to him, smiling up at the sky. "I suppose." Itachi was wary, talking to strangers was strictly forbidden, especially when you are the son of a mob boss.

"Nights like these remind me of why I moved here, the cold air and dark sky, they remind me of where I was born." The stranger didn't seem to be moving on.

"This is a dark place, you should find somewhere else to be nostalgic." Itachi replied and squinted at the man.

"You don't like it here?" he looked at Itachi curiously.

"Bad memories." Itachi said quietly then stepped away.

"That's unfortunate that your memories have marred such an exquisite small town. Though I do hear that it's nothing like it used to be since the mob took over." He started to follow Itachi and match his stride.

Itachi didn't respond, he was getting creeped out that his guy wouldn't leave him alone. "I guess."

The man stopped suddenly, "is it safe for you to be walking around in the dark? If there is mob activity then you should be more careful."

Itachi looked at the blonde man, he didn't know how to respond. "I've never had trouble before…" he turned and started moving back in the direction of his house.

"You are fortunate then. I should probably be getting back before my wife misses me, nice talking to you!" he held out his hand.

Itachi shook it then walked away, he felt something odd about this man, like he knew all about him and was just pretending to ask questions. He seemed too friendly and too open. Itachi frowned, wasn't that what normal people were supposed to be like though?

He walked up the steps to this front door but hesitated to open it, as soon as he stepped inside he would have to go back to being the obedient son and the cold brother, both roles that he hated. He sighed and entered the house.

His family was all sitting around the table eating, so he removed his shoes and joined them. No one was speaking and he could feel Sasuke glaring in his direction. His father was busy reading some papers and his mother tried her best to smile. Itachi looked down at his plate and started to eat, another normal family dinner.

"Sasuke, can you pass the salt?" Itachi asked, he couldn't even meet Sasuke's eyes. The salt shaker slid down the table, ricocheted off of his plate, the fell on its side. "Thanks…" Itachi picked it up and salted his food.

"Not too much salt, Itachi. It's unhealthy." His father's voice drifted down from the other end of the table.

Itachi almost broke the salt shaker in his hand, "yes…sir." Then he placed the shaker back on the table as softly as he could.

"It's not all that unhealthy dear, salt is necessary in the diet." His mom smiled at his father, "besides, at the rate Itachi exercises he should be eating more anyways."

His father looked over at his wife, he half smiled, "you're right, but excessive salt consumption is too much." Then he looked over at Itachi his smile fading, "who knows what kind of crap he ate while he was at school."

Sasuke continued to glare at Itachi, his eyes hadn't left his brother since he had walked into the house. Even as he ate, his eyes were fixed on Itachi. Sasuke had started doing this when Itachi hadn't said anything the first time their father had yelled at him.

Itachi finally met Sasuke's gaze, "do you want the salt back?" he asked calmly.

Sasuke just squinted and didn't say anything.

The rest of dinner passed in silence. Then Itachi's mom stood and started to clear the plates and Itachi and Sasuke followed her to kitchen to clean up. This was something they had been doing together since they were small and had been one of the few times when they were able to have time away from their father.

Itachi filled the sink with hot water and started to wash the plates as Sasuke silently put food away, he slammed the refrigerator door closed. "I won't let you win." Sasuke said, he stood facing the refrigerator.

"Win what?" Itachi asked, though he had the feeling he knew where this was going.

"Dad said I was going to be the head of the family. You think I haven't noticed you training harder? You think I haven't noticed you stopped fighting with dad? You're jealous of me, you don't want me to have more power than you." He faced Itachi, "I'll win, I don't care if you're older I will beat you."

Itachi just stared back, "You have a long difficult road ahead of you if you want to beat me." Then he turned back around and started washing again. They continued in silence until all the dishes were done and they started to put them away.

Sasuke picked up the stack of plates and walked over to the cabinet and climbed up onto the counter to put them away.

"Be careful, you know you aren't supposed to do that." Itachi said as he put the glasses away in the next cabinet over.

"You can't tell me what to do." Sasuke snapped.

Itachi sighed and started putting the silverware away, Sasuke was becoming more and more like their father: angry, abrasive, and impulsive.

There was a loud smash. Itachi whipped around and saw shattered glass all over the floor. Sasuke stared down at the mess from the counter, they both held their breath. There was the sound of a chair being pushed back then heavy footsteps down the hallway. Sasuke scrambled off the counter then looked over at Itachi, his eyes were wide.

Itachi felt a tug in his chest, he stared down at the broken mess. He walked over and got the broom and started to sweep it up, hoping that if he played it off like it was no big deal nothing would happen.

The door to the kitchen swung open. They both looked up and saw their father staring down.  
"What happened." He didn't even phrase it as a question.

Neither Itachi nor Sasuke said anything, they just looked guiltily at the floor.

"Who did this." His father's voice was getting louder.

Itachi stood up, he knew what was coming. "I did." Then he met his father's gaze. "It must have slipped out of my hand." He heard Sasuke breathe in next to him.

His father scowled deeper. "That set was a wedding gift, you should know better." He was on the verge of shouting.

"I'm sorry, father. It won't happen again." Itachi said back steadily, he still maintained eye contact.

His father's gaze shifted to Sasuke then to Itachi's hand which was still holding a few pieces of silverware. "Do you think I'm stupid?" he asked, his voice was now dangerously low.

Itachi could feel heat rising to his face and he looked down at this hand, "it was me," was all he could think to say.

"Sasuke, come here." His father's attention had shifted completely to Sasuke who stood as still as he could.

"Y-yes." Sasuke walked over slowly.

His father looked down at him, "did you break it?" he asked his frown was deepening with every second. Sasuke nodded. "Were you climbing on the counter again?" Sasuke nodded again.

Itachi stood helplessly, this was ridiculous. He understood that it had been a special set of plates, but it had been an accident. "It wasn't his fault." They both turned to look at him, "It was an accident. They happen." He hoped that would be enough to divert attention.

"Itachi, don't get involved in things that aren't your business." His father replied, his voice was harsh. Then he turned back to Sasuke, "How many times have I told you not to climb on the counter?"

"A lot…" Sasuke's voice was quiet.

"Then why did you do it?"

Sasuke didn't respond, he just looked down at the floor.

Itachi watched as his father raised one arm, an all too familiar gesture. He closed his eyes and his body moved on instinct.

Sasuke looked up, he saw Itachi's back in front of him. Then he looked down and scowled, it always ended like this.

There was silence, then his father turned and left the kitchen. Itachi turned and went back to sweeping up the broken glass. Sasuke stood rooted to the spot. Twice today Itachi had stepped between him and his dad. It wasn't necessarily the fact that Itachi had done this that bothered him, it was that his dad had never tried to hit him before.

After the glass had been swept up they quickly finished putting the dishes away then left the kitchen and separated at their rooms. Itachi sighed then sat down at his desk, he pulled out his computer and started scrolling through websites. He noticed an e-mail icon in the corner of his screen, intrigued as to who would be e-mailing him he opened it. It was from Hidan.

Hey Itachi!

We all miss you at school. Your friend Sakura probably misses you the most out of everyone though. We haven't seen Oro or Kabuto either, do you know if they are coming back? I figured something happened between you two since you didn't talk at all for all of finals week or the week before. Anyways, I hope everything is going good! Anko says hi, I met her parents over break and they are just like her, figures I guess. Well, have to go. Don't be stranger, you can text me anytime that's why you have my number after all!

Hidan

Itachi sighed and closed the e-mail, he missed his friends. His cheek stung, he hadn't planned on stepping in, his body had just moved. He didn't know how Sasuke was feeling, but he was pretty sure that Sasuke still hated him.

Sasuke walked into his room and slammed the door. He scowled, why was everything so awful all of a sudden? He felt something slide down his face and he realized that he was crying. He stood next to the door and stared into the blackness of his room letting the tears flow freely, why did Itachi have to be so confusing? He switched from being cold and heartless to still preventing his dad from ever touching him. But he never smiled anymore, never talked to him anymore, and never hung out anymore.

Sasuke turned the light on and sat down on the floor next to his bookshelf and pulled a home work sheet out of his bag. He tried to solve some of the problems but ended up frustrated. He ripped the sheet in half and watched the pieces float to the ground. He started breathing hard and snarled, then slammed a tiny fist against the floor.

He felt an odd sensation on his shoulder, it tingled and burned slightly. He tried to calm down his anger, every time he got like this he could feel the snake bite from that day; a constant reminder of Itachi's failure.

The burning intensified despite any attempts he made to calm down. He started to squirm. He could feel the burning spread over to his shoulder then move across his chest and down his arm until he felt like his entire body was on fire. He looked down frantically at his hands, they were covered in black markings. He screamed then punched the wall leaving a massive dent.

When Sasuke opened his eyes he was lying on the floor of his room, the light was off and the street light shone in through the window. He was covered in sweat and was breathing hard, what had just happened? He checked his hands, they were back to normal now. He winced, the back of his neck still felt like it was on fire. He sat up and hugged his knees, this had never happened before. He wished that Itachi was there then remembered that if Itachi hadn't been late none of this would have happened in the first place. He scowled.

He picked himself up, he thought it was odd that he had yelled and no one had come to see if he was alright. Were they just ignoring him? He crawled into bed and wrapped himself in blankets, of course they didn't come they all hate me. He tried to close his eyes and fall asleep but every time he tried he could see Orochimaru's face grinning with snakes wrapping around his head.

Sasuke just lay there for an hour with his eyes open. He was exhausted but he didn't want to sleep. He thought about his dad, the one person who told him to embrace his strength and to let it flow in his veins. It was because of his father's training that he'd never had to go through the painful episodes that Itachi had with his eyes, but he was harsh. His dad had never been the cuddly parent who gave their kid high fives for doing well that was his mom. The more he thought about it the more he realized that his dad had spent his entire life training him. He sighed, hadn't he been the same way Itachi? What made him treat Itachi so badly? He could feel a tiny pang of guilt for not forgiving his brother.

He felt tears coming again; he stared at a picture of him and Itachi that he kept on his bookshelf they were both smiling and happy. He missed those times, he missed having an older brother who cared about him more than he cared about impressing their dad. His face twisted in anger, was running the family and having power really more important than your own little brother? He got up and put the picture face down so he wouldn't have to look at it.

The guilt came back, Itachi had stepped in for him just like had before. How could his brother be so cruel and so loving at the same time? Nothing made sense. His hand paused over the picture and for a second he thought about picking it back up again. He sighed, no, that time had passed. He slowly walked over to his closet and changed into shorts and a t-shirt then quietly left his room. He walked down the hallway and down the stairs to the basement.

As he approached, he noticed that the lights were already on, that's weird he thought. He slowly stepped into the room and saw his dad hitting a punching bag in the corner. "Dad?" his voice sounded small in the large room.

His father turned around saw him, then he managed to not scowl. "Sasuke, shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I wasn't tired… figured I could at least make myself tired…" he looked at the floor, in truth he just needed to hit something.

His father nodded then walked across the room, "you can go ahead, I'll leave you." Then he started to pick up his things to leave.

"It's ok, I don't mind if you're here. We didn't get to train today like usual because of…" he didn't want to say Itachi's name in case that would make his dad angry.

His dad paused, "I know. I'm sorry." Then he looked down at Sasuke, "we could go now if you like?"

Sasuke looked up smiling, "really?!"

"Sure," he put his things back down and walked to the center of the room, "come at me with everything you've got."

Sasuke started running and jumped in for an attack. They sparred for a while, pausing a bit now and then for his dad to show him a better way to parry or block. Pretty soon they were both exhausted and they sat against the wall.

"Dad…"

"Yes?"

"Why are you so rough on Itachi all the time?" Sasuke asked, "I know he's changed a lot recently but he's just trying to make you proud…"

His dad was quiet for a long time, "Itachi never wanted to be part of the family. He hates what we stand for and he hates you. Before you activated your eyes he was able to be your friend so he could try to turn you against me. He even tried to stop me from training you. I had to put him in his place, as the head of the family you are going to have a lot of enemies and you will need someone to watch your back. That is the path he has ahead of him and hates you because he wants to run the family not watch his little brother gain the power and strength that he always craved. He hasn't accepted his fate yet. Thiat's why I am hard on him, because he needs to be strong and have the right mindset. Even now he acts like he has it but he's still fighting me."

"Then did he ever love me?" Sasuke looked up at his dad.

"No."

Sasuke could feel his stomach drop. All those times that Itachi had pretended to care about him, had pretended to help him, and pretended to look out for him. They had all been a lie. He wasn't surprised, he was more talented than Itachi; he had heard this his whole life. Itachi was jealous and had tried to undermine him since the beginning.

"I'm going to bed now Sasuke, we can train more tomorrow. Don't stay up too much later." His dad got up and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Sasuke stood up and walked over to the punching bag. He started to hit it repeatedly, getting slowly faster and faster until he was hitting without even thinking. Tears streamed down his face, of course it was true. It all made sense now, Itachi hated him. Slowly the memory Itachi getting hit for him slipped away and was replaced with thoughts Itachi trying to manipulate him with smiles and hugs. "I'll be head of this family and you'll work for me!" he started shout as he punched harder, "no one will control me! No one!" he gave one final yell and fell forward exhausted.

He dragged himself back to his room and crawled into bed still sweaty from training. He didn't really care, he could shower in the morning. He checked the clock in his room, it was midnight. Then he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

As he left the basement he smiled to himself, Sasuke was well on his way to becoming a strong leader. He quietly walked into his room and looked down at his wife's sleeping figure, she was the most beautiful person in the world. He changed into shorts and crawled into bed. He lay staring at the ceiling for a while, slowly letting his brain turn off and letting sleep take over. There was a gentle rustle and he felt a cold hand touch his shoulder, he looked over and saw his wife looking at him. "Mikoto, I thought you were asleep." He whispered.

"I was." She smiled. Then her smile faded and she looked concerned, "Is Sasuke still awake? I thought I heard him scream…"

"He's fine. He's getting stronger." His voice was proud, "He will be a good head of the family one day."

There was silence from the other side of the bed, "Itachi is getting more distant, I'm worried about him, Fukaku."

"He'll be fine." Hearing Itachi's name made his smile fade. "He's strong, he can protect Sasuke well."

"You're awfully hard on him, even when he doesn't argue with you." Mikoto's voice was soft and she held her husband's hand as she said this. She loved her children more than anything and watching them fight and slip away was unbearable.

Fukaku rolled over and looked into Mikoto's eyes, "he'll never forgive me, which is exactly what I want. The more he hates the stronger he gets, it's what I need from him and he is starting to play the part."

Mikoto looked down, "when you hit the children…" tears welled up in her eyes.

Fukaku reached over and gently touched her cheek, "Itachi shoved away my love a long time ago, and Sasuke has accepted it. You know how it is with our family's eyes, even if he hates it he has to stay." He rolled onto his back, "I was thinking of getting Sasuke a personal trainer for his eyes."

"Who?" Mikoto's voice was tense.

"My uncle. He is the most talented Uchiha in the history of the family."

There was a long pause as Mikoto absorbed this new information, "what about Itachi?"

Fukaku sighed, "I'll continue to train him, though he is progressing far faster than I expected, he has already mastered his new eyes. I suspect he is training on his own to hide it from Sasuke."

Mikoto rolled over so that she was on her back as well, then moved closer to her husband and pulled his arm around her shoulder, "Fukaku, I know that your life isn't easy and that you have to do what you must because of it. But please, remember that they are your children."

Fukaku didn't respond, he just wrapped his other arm around his wife and closed his eyes. He hadn't spoken to his uncle in months; he was a harsh and brutal man and he had trained Fukaku when he was young. He was just the person Sasuke needed to be trained by. His mind went back to Itachi and he clenched his jaw, he'd had so much promise and so much skill and he'd thrown it away. He'd tried to teach Itachi and to raise him, but he had pushed it away choosing books and philosophy instead. Then he had started fighting back. When Sasuke had come along it had gotten worse because Itachi felt like he had something to protect. Fukaku sighed, that was all over now, Itachi had finally given in. he closed his eyes and drifted off slowly into sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

***IMPORTANT! at this point the story started being a collab with one of my friends and she took over the Orochimaru plot! every time you see a separate Orochimaru chapter it is her writing!***

Doors flung open, slamming, wind, hardwood floors, clattering, blood covered sandals, repeating, repeating, sweat, gasping, "they can't breathe", "I can't breathe", "it's dark", "why is it dark?", "that was my family…", "I'm cold", "I'm cold", "I'm cold"...

Covered in sweat Orochimaru shot up quickly from his bed, fists clenched tightly together, this was the fourth time this week this nightmare came to him. Orochimaru places his trembling hand over his mouth, trying to steady his breathing as the door to the tattered bedroom opened.

"Orochimaru, are you okay? Or was it that-" Kabuto was cut off before he could finish by Orochimaru's sharp hiss, "Yes, Kabuto. It was. Now, I would appreciate it if you just went back to your bedroom and leave out the lecture about stress levels again. I get it."

Kabuto straightened himself up, getting defensive, but then decided to just leave with a nod and grimace. He knows he is on the side of Orochimaru for now, his loyalty is with him… but this was not the same small, seemingly harmless but somewhat creepy, kid he first saw in the library.

He spends all his time reading, sneaking off into the night, coming back covered in dirt and blood, saying absolutely nothing. When he does speak they are warped snarls, hisses, small bites. Each syllable of every word is dripping with venom, Kabuto has been thinking that Orochimaru's reptilian eyes are really suiting him now. Hell, even they have changed. Kabuto has been fairly decent at reading people, he was raised to pick up on the subtle characteristics of someone's personality, their demeanor. He looks at where their eyes goes, when their pupil dilates, if their fingers are fidgeting with something, posture, mouth, he takes everything into consideration and analyzes it on the spot. He could always tell Orochimaru was not happy. He could tell it by the way he carried himself, every aspect of him screaming help in a very quiet way; except his eyes.

Those were always loud, their plea was extremely present. However, Kabuto knew that although he might be hurting and his insides seem to constantly be burning he was not weak, his eyes told that too. Orochimaru was filled with ambition and strength, but none the less sad. Yet, his eyes filled with a different type of sadness, this time they don't want help. His large golden irises are clouded with hatred, with anger, and revenge, but also ambition. Kabuto sometimes tries to prolong their eye contact in order to see if he can find any traces of that help, and for a split second he can find that plea that was so present before, but it immediately changes. Orochimaru's scales have sharpened, they are new, he is changing.

Kabuto walks into his bedroom and closes the door saying to himself, "it seems like the small snake is finally shedding, who knew a garter snake could become a viper so quickly…if at all"

Orochimaru's teeth were clenched tightly as he stared out his window. Kabuto and him had been staying in this old run down apartment outside of Konoha. It had been abandoned and left to rot for a few years now, so they took refuge in it. The paint on the walls had been peeling, there were leaks which had all been magnified since they had reached the rainy season in Konoha. Everything smelt like mold and must, but it was someplace to sleep and think. It was something where the bear minimum could be accomplished, and for now that is exactly what Orochimaru needed. He stared out the window into the empty dirt road that ran past the apartment, there were a few apartments near by all either abandoned or owned by the poorest of the village. Gangs were strong in this area, so everyone minded their own business. Most residents didn't want to question the wrong people, because they knew death might be waiting for them at the outside of the door.

Orochimaru lit a few candles on some old plastic crates around the room, and sprawled out several papers and books on some old wooden boxes. He was so close, he was so close to finally finishing this. He had spent the past few weeks, months even, perfecting these steps. Gathering any information he could, by any means necessary without hesitation. He pulled out an old notebook from his backpack and began to hastily write more notes down and any questions he still might of had. His backpack was still filled with school supplies and textbooks he had no plan on returning anytime soon. He was done with that aspect of his life, he realized there was too much to learn and he had to get the information himself. He had to gather the knowledge, the data, and most important the experience by his own hands. Instructed and guided teaching in an institutionalized education environment was not what he needed, it just didn't suit him. Something he never thought he would ever find himself thinking.

Learning had always been a solace for him, a safe part of his mind where he could escape too. School systems were always a bit rough for him, he was bullied and ridiculed on the daily by children and teachers alike. He knew he looked different, and maybe acted a bit different as well; but the constant reminders that looks scary and ugly made some deep impressions. Due to all this he made himself a wall of books from a very young age, he had a desire to learn and to someday be able to answer the question why wherever it may apply. That was a goal he had set himself up for since he was little, and it was something that always pushed him forward. But he knew he was not ready to find out one answer to why, but he did that night in his dorm room. Orochimaru did what he could with that information, he tried his best to process it, but transforming that knowledge and those feelings into weapons seemed to be the best thing to do. And now, they were almost ready to be used. Orochimaru smirked, and slide out the door into the night. Cloaked and hooded, headed straight to the Uchiha camp. He needed to check in on something important, Orochimaru's blood was running cold- but he liked it that way.

It was the night after a storm had just passed through the village, so most of the dirt roads were flooded and covered in dampened leaves. Orochimaru had been walking for about an hour and a half and could sense that he was near the Uchiha camp soon. He has done this several times before in the past few months, each time the young Uchiha wakes up gripping his neck and trying to hold back tears, then the hallway light would turn on, Itachi would come in, hold Sasuke, look to the open window, and Orochimaru would leave. This was enough, this was all he needed at the time. He had not been there for awhile though, it had been a few weeks, Orochimaru had found himself in a pattern of extreme information gathering and could not be bothered. So he went out tonight to check in on his future new skin, his pawn, his objectified revenge.

Orochimaru crawled up to the side of Sasuke's window and opened it slowly, the boy was rolling in his sleep, sweat beginning to drip down the young boy's face, pain clearly growing. He started whimpering, gripping his neck. Someone should be coming by this point, but the door was not opening, and the light was not turning on. Orochimaru smirked, this was getting interesting. He decided to examine the situation further. Orochimaru entered through the window, and stared at the Uchiha now curled into the into a ball tears streaming down his face. Orochimaru started to walk slowly over to him as Sasuke slowly began to attempt to open his eyes.

"No, why, no no" Sasuke's eyes grew wide but his voice was small and shaking. Orochimaru's smile widened, he was a predatory and Sasuke was his upcoming meal; but first he had to size him up.

"Oh, poor poor Sasuke. In pain? I hope so. But don't worry, it'll be over soon with Itachi coming to-" but Orochimaru was caught off by the boy he was now standing over.

"He's not going to c-c-come" he said still trying to hold back tears, jaw clenched. Orochimaru looked back at the boy, pupils thinning out, but a smile quickly formed again on his face.

"Shame" Orochimaru said as he slowly touched Sasuke's shoulder, causing the boy to scream in pain writhing in his bed, unable to hold in his screams and cries in any longer. He turned to leave the boy , smile slowly fading from his face as he left through the window. He was confused as to why no one came for the boy, was he not important to the family anymore. He needed to do some more investigating, but this time on his old friend. He know that a snake in the grass could still be easily spotted by a weasel, but alas under the cover of night many more things were possible.


	4. Chapter 4

A change had come into the house in the days leading up to the arrival of Fukaku's uncle. Sasuke's training had gotten more rigorous and he even joined in with Itachi some days. Itachi's training started to focus in more on using his eyes and observational skills but he was also given small tasks to do for his father's business which kept him busy around town and away from the house. Mikoto spent most of the time cleaning and preparing the guest room for their mysterious relative. There was a tense atmosphere mostly caused by anticipation, neither Itachi nor Sasuke had ever met their great uncle before. They had only heard stories.

Itachi sighed as he walked into the last small business on Main Street, it was a tiny shop that sold tea. He had been coming here most of his life with his mother when she bought tea to have around the house and he was familiar with the owners. If it had been different circumstances he would have enjoyed the visit, but today wasn't about pleasure. As he entered he was hit with the smell of dried flowers and hot water, he tensed up. Usually he would relax but now he felt guilty, this was just another ploy by his father to make him change.

"Itachi! It's been a while, what can I do for you?" a man in his late 50's stood behind the counter smiling.

Itachi looked at the floor then closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, "I'm afraid I'm not here to buy anything today." He said quietly. He had been doing this all day and had felt terrible doing it, having to come to the place that brought him a sense of peace was ripping him apart inside. "I'm here on my father's business."

The man's smile faded and he sighed, "Ah. That." He left the counter and went to the back of the store. He came back with an orange envelope and handed it to Itachi. "You're not the usual one who comes…" he sounded curious.

"Starting to get more involved in the business," was all Itachi could manage to get out, he felt guilty standing in the shop with the envelope. Then he looked over at the tins of tea lining the shelves, "actually can I have a few ounces of peppermint for my mom, she's been stressed lately." He looked the man in the eyes, it was the least he could do.

The man smiled back sadly, "Of course you can." He busied himself weighing the tea and ringing it up, "you were always a nice kid Itachi, you'll always be welcome here. Please remember that." He smiled and handed the bag to Itachi.

Itachi reached over to pay but the man stopped him, "your mother has always been kind, tell her it was a gift." Itachi just stared back, the guilt started to grow again.

"Please take it, I…I want to pay for it…" Itachi tried to put the money in the man's hands, but he just pushed it back.

"Itachi, I know you're not the man your father is, please, consider it a thank you for buying from us. There are things you can't control, but I know what you are really like and some day you will make difference in this town." Then he turned and left the counter, leaving Itachi alone in the front of the store.

He stood there, he hardly believed what happened. He found a piece of paper and a pen in his backpack then scribbled a quick thank you note and left it on the counter. Then he left the warm tea shop for the cold February night. He walked quickly down the street, he had the money from almost every business on this half of town and he didn't want to be caught unaware. He sped up walking back to his father's building. It was a black stone building that blended into the darkness, it was probably the ugliest building in the entire town with white accents and a muddy brown interior.

Itachi shuddered as he walked up to the front door and entered. He walked past the receptionist at the front desk who stood up to stop him then noticed who he was. He walked straight to the elevators in the back and hit the up arrow. He could feel himself blending into the walls and the floor in his all black clothes, as suggested by his father for his first time collecting payments. He felt swallowed up by the darkness, lost amongst the dark walls and the dark carpets that hadn't changed since he was a kid.

The elevator dinged and he climbed on then hit the button for the top floor. The building was only four floors but the elevator went straight to his father's office. It was a short trip, then the bell went off again and he exited into the darkest room in the building. His father's office was the entire top floor with a wall of all windows looking over the small town, the desk was all the way against the back wall.

His father looked up as he exited the elevator, then looked back down at his paperwork. Itachi set his jaw and walked to the desk then dropped his back pack onto it with an audible bang causing his father to look up annoyed. Then he loudly unzipped the bag and started to drop the envelopes one by one onto the desk with a thump, the whole time scowling and staring into his father eyes.

His father scowled back, "are you finished?" Itachi dropped the last envelope with a smack on the top of the pile. Then he zipped his bag closed and threw it over his shoulder, still maintaining eye contact.

"yes." He replied then squinted back, "father."

His dad sighed then looked back at his paperwork, he would deal with this when he got home, "You had no trouble I hope?" there was silence. "Itachi, if you have nothing better to do than get out your aggression on envelopes then leave. I have better things to do than share oxygen with my supposedly rebellious child."

Itachi breathed in and clenched his jaw, then turned to leave. When he turned his backpack hit a picture frame on his father's desk and knocked it to the floor, shattering the glass. He paused, "oops." He said almost mockingly even though it had been an accident, then he walked straight for the elevator and went back downstairs.

Fukaku let out a frustrated growl and hit his desk with his fist sending the pile of envelopes sliding off onto the floor. Even though Itachi had done exactly what he said he did it with as much hatred and disgust as he had when he refused to do anything at all. Fukaku stood and went to sweep up the picture that had fallen; it was a picture of Mikoto.

Itachi left the building as quickly as possible and started walking back home. He'd probably pay for his actions later that night while training with his father. He walked along the sidewalk slowly almost dreading having to be at home, maybe if I take a while to get there then it won't happen, he thought. Of course It was just delaying the inevitable, his father always won. That's why he was the head of a massive company that owned most of Konoha and he controlled most of the residents through a protection racket. He was too powerful for just one person, one son who disagreed with him, to fight with.

The words "supposedly rebellious" had hurt to hear, of course his father had never taken him seriously no matter what he did or said. He kicked a small rock and it echoed down the street. After everything he had done for the first half of his life: refusing to train as much as possible, trying to not awaken his eyes, trying to argue back with logic and philosophy, all of it had been a waste. He was still here, he ended up working for his father anyways, he ended up with more powerful eyes than most, and now he couldn't even argue.

He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and just stared down at the ground, the only hope he had for a future was protecting Sasuke. Nothing he hadn't done before, of course. But he would still be involved in all the corruption and the hatred that caused things like the death of Orochimaru's parents and forcing his friends to pay exorbitant amounts for protection they didn't actually need.

He snarled and punched the fence that ran around in front of a small house and broke the tip off one of the slats. Of course, Orochimaru was planning on hurting Sasuke and he would never let that happen, he would rather die than see Sasuke be used for experiments or used for someone else's ambition. He sighed, was he actually doing the right thing by accepting his father's anger and obeying all his orders? Sasuke already hated him, everyday it became more and more obvious.

"You seem to like walking at night!"

Itachi was snapped back to reality by an oddly familiar voice. He turned around quickly to see the man with the spiky blonde hair standing behind him. He hadn't seen him since their first encounter a few weeks ago.

"Sorry, did I scare you?"

"no." he seemed smiley and friendly, which made Itachi uncomfortable.

The man walked up to him, "I'm afraid I never introduced myself, I'm Minato." He held his hand out and tilted his head to the side smiling.

Itachi blinked, it reminded him of when he met Orochimaru for the first time and his face fell. He remembered the beginning, the good times of relaxing and hanging out with Hidan and Anko. He looked away from Minato and put his hands into his pockets.

Minato shrugged, "you seem very hesitant to talk to people. Don't worry I won't make you say anything, but you are standing in front of my house."

Itachi started to feel even more uncomfortable then took a step to move on, "sorry, I'll leave."

"It's no problem! I was just making an observation. What's your name?" he smiled, his face was open and amiable.

Just like Orochimaru's face in the beginning, Itachi thought. "Itachi." He said finally, it couldn't hurt to not be rude at least.

"Nice to meet you! If you don't mind me asking, are you new to this town? I moved here last September but I had never seen you before the last time." Minato looked at him curiously, his blue eyes catching the light of a passing car.

Itachi hesitated he just wanted to continue walking alone and think things through before he had to go home. "No… not really… I was away at school…" he managed to say, hoping that Minato wouldn't pry any farther.

"Ah, that makes sense." He shrugged then stood silently, he looked like he wanted to ask something more but instead he just said, "It was nice talking to you! I hope I bump into you again when I'm with my wife. She would love to meet you, and we have a son too." He started walking towards the house then noticed the broken piece of fence, he looked at Itachi then back at the fence then back to Itachi, "Have a good night…" he smiled, then disappeared into the house.

Itachi watched him walk inside then continued down the sidewalk, he wasn't far now. He walked past the middle school, the massive brick building that had been the stage for Orochimaru's betrayal. He had grown to hate that building and having to walk Sasuke to and from school was a constant reminder of what had happened.

He eventually ended up in front of his own house, the curtains were drawn like usual so that even with the lights on inside it still looked dark and imposing. He stood outside for a while in the light of the streetlight, he was already late which would make his father madder than he already was. He didn't know what to expect, his father had been on edge since he announced that their great uncle would be staying with them for a while, and that was making him antsy. Itachi shivered, he sensed that this wasn't going to be the most peaceful evening and he mentally prepared for a violent training session.

He took a deep breath then stepped out of the glow of the streetlight into the inky blackness that was between him and his house. He slowly walked up the path and up the steps then reached for the door. He hesitated, a part of him wanted to run and never come back. He scowled and grabbed the doorknob, then twisted and entered the house.

He made it about three steps before he heard the yell.

"Itachi!" it was loud and sharp. He winced, it was a sound that he hadn't heard since before the incident with Orochimaru. "Why are you late?" the voice continued from behind him in the living room.

"I walked…" he started quietly, using all his willpower not to yell back or argue.

"I can't hear you!" the voice continued to yell, but it was getting closer.

"I said I walked." Itachi said louder, keeping his face straight not betraying any fear or hesitation.

The voice was right behind him now, it was so close he could feel hot breath on the back of his neck, "Get changed and get your ass down to the basement." the voice was still yelling.

"Yes, father," Itachi said automatically and walked down the hall to his room. He made an effort to not look rushed or bothered. As soon as he got to his room he threw his bag onto his bed and changed and grabbed the bandages for his hands and left quickly.

He walked back down the hall and towards the basement stairs when he saw his mom, she briefly made eye contact.

"Itachi…" she started, "I love you…" she looked like she wanted to hug him.

Itachi half smiled at his mom, she had always been there for him, to pick up the pieces when things got too bad. She always knew what to say, but she never apologized for her husband. "I know you do, mom." Then he descended the stairs into the basement.

The moment he stepped into the training room Itachi knew that it wasn't going to be a fair fight that night. His father was already in the corner hitting the punching bag, he's ready to go, Itachi thought. He started to wrap his hands and plan his attacks. He still wasn't as strong as his father was, when he was using his full strength it was like getting hit by a cement brick repeatedly. He was going to have to take more hits than usual tonight but he would have to focus more on evading and defending than attacking.

His father turned around and faced him from across the room. Itachi swallowed, don't be nervous you know it's going to hurt, he told himself. It wasn't very helpful.

"Get over here." Fukaku's voice was loud and commanding. Itachi walked over, wishing with every step that he was going in the other direction. They stood two feet apart, his father just stared into his eyes. Itachi met the glare and stared back keeping his face expressionless.

The first attack was like lightning, a punch aimed at Itachi's face. Itachi dodged it easily and fell into a defensive position, watching for anything. Next was a kick to the chest, this one landed. The wind got knocked out of Itachi's lungs as he fell backward and off balance. He decided to use this opportunity to change stance and centers of gravity, he dropped to the floor and used a sweep kick which, much to his surprise, was effective. His father fell to the ground heavily. Itachi saw an opening and attacked.

Of course it was all planned, he noticed as soon as he committed to the attack. His father smirked and caught the punch just centimeters from his face then grabbed Itachi's elbow with his other hand and twisted. Pain erupted in Itachi's shoulder as the joint stressed and there was a series of loud popping noises. He yelled as he felt his body go weak and collapse to the floor. Hot burning pain spread from the shoulder joint all the way down to his hand.

Itachi felt a sudden pressure on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and saw his father standing with one foot planted on the joint scowling down at his son.

"I didn't hear you." he said, then stepped harder.

Itachi yelled again, sweat beaded on his forehead, "I didn't say anything." He managed to get out between panting breaths. He'd never felt pain like this before.

"Exactly. You never say anything." He leaned down and grabbed the collar of Itachi's t-shirt, "you think I don't see what you're doing? You disrespect me in my own office, then decide to show up an hour late to training?" he dropped Itachi's collar, letting his head hit the wooden floor. He took his foot off of Itachi's shoulder, "don't you EVER disrespect me again."

Itachi managed to scoot backwards a few feet. He touched his shoulder and made an attempt to pop the joint back into place, the skin was tender and swollen and even touching it lightly hurt. He looked back at his father who stood expectantly, this was not going to end well. He gritted his teeth then grabbed his arm and quickly raised it upwards and pushed it back into place. There was an explosion of pain but he refused to yell again instead letting the pain come out as tears. He could feel nausea coming but he managed to pick himself up and face his father again.

He could barely stand and he could feel his knees giving way long before the second hit, a kick came out of nowhere and made contact with his right leg right above the knee. Itachi dropped, he had never seen his father attack like this before, they weren't cheap shots but it was like his father knew exactly where to hit to inflict the most pain with the least effort. He managed to stand back up and back a few feet away to lean against the wall. His entire arm was almost numb from pain and now he could barely walk.

He decided to try an attack using his eyes, he didn't use them much because he was still learning with them but he was getting desperate. He concentrated, focusing on the blurry movements that his eyes showed him. There was a flurry as he saw his father coming at him quickly. Then he saw it. He quickly dodged to the side a second before a fist was about to make contact with his injured shoulder. He stood panting, "I don't think I can keep training…" he regretted saying it almost as soon as the words escaped his lips.

"We're far from done." His father turned to face him. "You have a sore shoulder. Get over it."

Itachi snarled, his father always knew how to make him angry beyond reason. He attacked, just to prove a point he used his injured arm in an attempt to punch his father in the face, but he easily blocked it. He grabbed Itachi's other arm and twisted behind his back then pushed forward until Itachi was on his knees.

"Your fake act of being the perfect child doesn't really work when I know you're doing it to spite me. You still want to protect Sasuke from me, but he doesn't need it. Sasuke is the son that I chose and he is far safer from me than you could ever dream to be." He let go and stepped back and looked at Itachi crumpled on the ground, "accept it. Your fate is sealed."

"But Sasuke's isn't, and that's who I'll fight for." Itachi groaned from the floor. "He's not safe, he won't be ever. Not from you, not from other people, not from…" he almost said Orochimaru, "other people." He finished. "You think I'll change just because you want me to because you're stronger and you have power, but I'll never change for someone like you." He tried to pick himself up but with both arms hurting he struggled just to roll over onto his back.

"You'll change. Just wait until your great uncle gets here. I'll let him train you and you will come crawling back to me. He'll break you, you and your attitude and your petty rebellion." His father calmly started to undo the bandages around his hands, then dropped them onto the floor next to Itachi's head, "Don't ever be late again." Then he left the basement and slammed the door behind him.

Itachi groaned and tried to get up again, his right arm, the one that hadn't been ripped out of its socket, hurt less so he used it to brace his body and get up into a sitting position. He managed to crawl over to the wall and leaned against it. He could feel the nausea coming back again, he sighed. It had been about what he'd expected. He let the wave of nausea pass then made an attempt to stand up which landed him on his back again. He hadn't noticed his leg hurting because of his left shoulder, but now he could feel a bruise forming above his knee, just enough to make him limp.

He tried a second time and managed to stand up and make his way toward the door. When he got there he twisted the handle but it wouldn't budge. Of course, he thought. Then slid with his back leaning on the door until he was sitting down, no need to waste any energy when three of your limbs were almost incapacitated. Both his arms lay limp at his sides and he had his bruised leg stretched out in front of him. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

The nausea made a come back but this time he actually threw up, or tried to. He hadn't eaten since the morning so he dry heaved saliva into the corner then rested his head against the door again. He had never felt so alone before, his father hated him, Sasuke hated him, Orochimaru hated him, and for some reason Kabuto hated him. With the exception of his father, everyone that he had cared about was cruelly ripped away by fate. He felt hot tears stream down his face, he hadn't cried in months and felt it all let loose. He cried for what felt like hours until he fell asleep against the locked training room door.

Sasuke was almost finished his homework when he heard the basement door slam and footsteps on the stairs. He was spread out across the sofa doing a grammar worksheet, he'd had headphones in but the door slamming had made the house shake. He looked over and saw his dad at the top of the stairs, he looked angry.

He walked over to where Sasuke was drawing circles and swirls across the top of his homework trying to figure out where to put commas in the example sentences. He reached over and pulled a headphone out of Sasuke's ear, "you're not training tonight. You need rest before you start training with your great uncle." Sasuke opened his mouth to protest, but stopped before he said anything. His dad walked away down the hall and disappeared into his room.

Sasuke scowled, it wasn't fair that Itachi got more time training. He was supposed to be head of the family one day, how could he even dream of getting stronger than Itachi if he never had time to train. He angrily stabbed his pencil into his worksheet then remembered what his teacher had said the last time he'd handed in a math worksheet that was ripped in half. He let out a sigh and started to randomly add commas wherever he wanted and stuck the sheet back into his folder.

"Dinner is ready!" His mom's cheerful voice came from the kitchen and she walked out with giant bowl and put it on the table.

Sasuke stood and walked over, his mom looked different. She was smiling but it didn't feel real for some reason. He figured she'd heard the door slam and assumed that Itachi and his dad hadn't had the most peaceful of training sessions. It wasn't rare, it happened most days, but it felt different today.

A few minutes later his dad came back into the room and they all sat down. Sasuke looked over at the empty chair next to him, it felt like Itachi was back at school again, "dad… Is he going to come to dinner?"

"no." his father's face stayed stony and cold, "he has extra things to do tonight to train with his eyes."

They started eating in silence, even Mikoto couldn't find the heart to start a conversation. Sasuke tried to eat as quickly as possible, he could feel the tension at the table. Something had happened that was worse than usual and as much as he hated Itachi for competing with him and being stronger than he was he still felt that something was very wrong.

"Sasuke, how was school today?" Mikoto's voice drifted quietly across the table.

"Good…" Sasuke lied, he'd actually gotten into another fight. It had been happening more and more recently, specifically with one kid: Naruto.

"Really?" this time it was his father's voice.

Crap, thought Sasuke, they know. "Well…"he didn't know how to word it, "there is this kid who is always picking fights with me and challenging me and saying that he's stronger than me and weird stuff like that…"

"You got into another fight at school?" his dad sighed, "Sasuke, I can't keep on talking to the principal like this. You need to control yourself better." Then he added, "Itachi never got into fights at school." and stared down Sasuke from across the table.

Hearing Itachi's name made Sasuke snarl, but he didn't say anything. His dad never made sense, one day he would be telling him that Itachi was against him and the next he would be making Itachi into some kind of role model. "I don't care." He said quietly then got up from the table.

"Sasuke! Finish your food." His mother's voice gently dragged him back and he sat down again. She had always been like that, balancing him and making sure that he didn't do anything that he would regret, keeping him from losing control.

She smiled at him. "You need to eat to be big and strong." Her face got serious, "but you can't attack other kids at school, you have more strength than they do and you should know better than to use it for bullying other kids." As she said this gave her husband a sideways look.

"Yes mom." Sasuke said under his breath. Then finished his food before he got up again. He grabbed his folder and worksheet and went back to his room.

As soon as he was gone Mikoto turned to Fukaku, her face was filled with concern. "I heard yelling. What did you do?" she looked on the verge of tears.

Fukaku didn't say anything for a while then took a deep breath, "he's started to fight me again. I put an end to it." then he stood up and started clearing plates.

Mikoto stood and picked up bowls of food, "you're breaking your child's spirit, no father should ever do that." She turned and went into the kitchen.

Fukaku followed, "It needs to be done for the family and the business, even if he was coddled as a child he would still need to be shaped into what he has to become."

"He's my son!" Mikoto raised her voice, it wasn't something that she did very often. "Fukaku, you go too far!" she started crying and leaned against the counter, "I know that this life was never going to be easy for him, but he's your flesh and blood! Doesn't that mean anything to you?" she looked into her husband's eyes and they started to soften.

"It's nothing worse than what I had to go through, he'll be fine."

"He's not you, you wanted this life but he doesn't. Why can't you just let him leave?" she put a hand on Fukaku's arm and looked up into his face.

"You know he can't do that."

She looked down sadly, "Every time you hurt him it hurts me." She replied quietly.

Fukaku didn't say anything, he wrapped his arm around Mikoto and let her cry. There were just some things that she would never be able to understand about what lay ahead of their children.

They finished cleaning up and putting the dishes away then sat in the living room. Fukaku didn't feel like doing any paperwork so he just sat with one arm around Mikoto. "I had Itachi collect payments today."

Mikoto looked over, "I'm guessing that he struggled with it?"

"I think so."

"He knows a lot of the people who run those businesses, they've seen him grow up."

"He needs to learn how to stop having emotional attachments." Fukaku sighed and leaned back, "he may have a strong body and talent with his eyes, but he has a weak mind."

"Caring about people isn't sign of weakness, sometimes it can be stronger than physical strength." Mikoto replied then closed her eyes, she saw he son's ten year old face blood pouring out of two symmetrical cuts on his cheeks.

Fukaku was silent, this wasn't something he wanted to debate with his wife. Instead he changed the subject, "my uncle comes tomorrow."

"I know." Mikoto sat up, "you don't talk about him much, what's he like…?"

Fukaku sighed, "He trained me. There isn't much to talk about. He hated training me about as much as I hated him training me."

Mikoto frowned, "will Sasuke be ok?"

"He'll be fine. He'll come out stronger and be more ready to take over."

They didn't say anymore. They stayed on the sofa for a while longer then they walked back to their room and went to sleep. The coming day would be stressful.

Sasuke lay on his bed. He wanted to train. He rolled over and checked his clock, it was almost midnight. He'd give it a few more hours then he'd head down. He rolled back over and stared at the ceiling. He'd heard his parent's voices from the kitchen, it always bothered him the way that his mom talked about Itachi, like he was more special or something.

He snarled and slammed a fist onto his mattress. Am I not good enough for you? Am I too angry to be considered a good son? He got up and went over to his desk to scroll through the internet. He usually ended up on YouTube watching videos about martial arts.

He searched around for a bit but didn't find anything interesting that he hadn't seen already. He wondered what his great uncle would be like, he probably wasn't going to be very nice if he was anything like his dad. Sasuke sighed, this relative had come out of nowhere and now they would be training him. He couldn't help but feel like he was getting pushed off to the side and that Itachi was getting priority these days, had his dad lied to him about being the head of the family? He scowled, that couldn't be it. Itachi would never make it as head of the family, he's too weak Sasuke thought.

He ended up just reading for a while, he didn't read much but he'd found a good series recently and had been busying himself with that while waiting for his turn to train in the evenings. About 100 pages later he checked the clock again, it was about 2 AM. Finally, he thought, now I can at least train myself a little. He quickly changed into shorts and t-shirt then tiptoed down the hallway towards the living room.

He crept down the basement stairs and reached over to turn the light on but the switch was already up, that's weird, he thought. He tried to open the door but it was locked, that was really weird, maybe Itachi had left the light on when he'd finished for the night. He turned the lock and pushed the door, but it wouldn't open. He pushed harder and managed to get it open enough to slip through.

As soon as he entered he saw Itachi asleep against the door. Sasuke blinked then stepped back, he hadn't expected Itachi to still be down here. Then he remembered the slam, the light left on, and the locked door. The pieces slid together, his dad must have been really angry.

He sighed then dragged Itachi out of the doorway and to the side of the room, he wasn't strong enough to carry him up the stairs and he didn't want to wake him up. He felt a pang of guilt. The person he had once looked up to and adored was now crumpled and unconscious now doubt caused by his father's hand. He was about to walk away when he noticed that Itachi's eyelashes were wet and his cheeks were streaky with tears, what had happened down here? He walked away and started to hit the punching bag.

Itachi heard an odd noise and his eyes fluttered open. He saw Sasuke across the room, then realized that he was still in the basement. Everything came flooding back and he felt a numb throbbing pain in his left shoulder. Everything hurt and he didn't want to move. He watched Sasuke for a while, his little brother was hitting the punching bag with all his strength and yelling as he did. He stopped suddenly.

"I know you're awake."

Itachi looked away, then made an attempt to sit up but neither of his arms would support his body weight.

"What did you do this time?" Sasuke looked over and smirked.

Itachi made another attempt to get up and managed to do it this time, "just what I was told." He said quietly, then he started to stand up but fell down painfully when he tried to put weight on his bruised leg.

Sasuke snorted, "obviously you didn't." then he walked over and took a sip of water from a water bottle.

Itachi tried again and managed to stand up and limp towards the door.

"What? You don't want to train with me?" Sasuke laughed, "Afraid I would win?"

Itachi closed his eyes but kept going. He had to half crawl up the stairs while making sure not to use his left arm at all. It took almost ten minutes just to get to the top of the basement stairs and he was exhausted when he had finally made it.

He limped through the house towards his room. He fell a few times, but since he couldn't catch himself he ended up face planting in the hallway. By the time he made it to his room he had bruised knees and a bloody nose.

As soon as he made it to his room he pulled himself into his bed, letting blood stream out of his nose. He was too tired and in too much pain to care. He closed his eyes and fell asleep almost instantly, but as soon as he did the nightmares started.

He dreamed that he was in a dark room, arms were holding him back and he struggled against them but they wouldn't let go. Orochimaru walked out of the darkness and smirked at him, "Itachi, how nice of you to visit me." His voice was cold and mocking.

Orochimaru walked towards him, his twisted smile getting wider and wider with every step, then he reached up and touched his face dragging his fingers across Itachi's eyes. "I'm so glad to see you are taking care of my eyes for me."

Itachi struggled and tried to pull away but the arms held him tightly in place, "they aren't your eyes, they're mine!" he managed to shout.

Then Sasuke appeared behind Orochimaru, he had a snake wrapped around him and he was holding its head in his hands, "Orochimaru protects me. Orochimaru was there for me. He gave me the power to defeat you, older brother." He said the last two words with a sneer. Then he let the snake go and it slithered toward Itachi.

It managed to take hold of one of his legs and wrap itself around slowly climb higher and higher until its head was poised right above his neck. Then the snakes head turned into his father's face, "You're going to die, Itachi. Accept it. Stop fighting me!" then it bit him. Itachi struggled, but he snake wouldn't let go and he could feel his body getting weaker and weaker. He heard Orochimaru's laugh in distance and he screamed.


	5. Chapter 5

Itachi's eyes slowly opened. It had been a long night and even though he wanted to sleep later his body woke him up at the usual time. He didn't move, just stared at the ceiling trying not to think about the burning pain in his left shoulder. Eventually he gave up and decided that he was better off facing the day than waiting for someone, mainly his father, to come barging in and drag him out of bed.

He tried to sit up but failed miserably barely making it a few inches off his mattress. Oh yeah, my right arm too, he thought. He gritted his teeth and used his right arm to push himself up into a sitting position. He could feel his arm groan in protest but he pushed through the pain anyways. He sat up and looked at his bed: the pillow and the sheets were covered in blood. He was confused, he didn't remember any blood from the night before. He sniffed, why is my nose stuffed up? He wondered then looked and saw his reflection on his black computer screen.

His eyes widened in disbelief. His entire face was covered in dried blood. Then he remembered more details about crawling to his room, he must have hit his face. He sighed, then slowly swung one leg over the edge of his bed and went to move the other one but stopped when he felt a sharp pain. What now? He let out another sigh, he had been through worse than this.

It took almost twenty minutes of frustration and slow moving but he managed to get up and grab his towel. His first aim was to take a shower before his mom saw his face and freaked out. He started limping toward his door his left arm hung limp at his side. He cracked the door open and peeked into the hallway, he could hear his parents in the kitchen getting breakfast it was Saturday so Sasuke was probably still asleep. He slowly opened the door and dragged himself down the hall to the bathroom and closed and locked the door behind him. He would have peace for a little while longer.

Showering turned out to be more difficult than he had foreseen since he could only use one arm and that arm was beyond sore. He also found that his left leg was getting tired faster from having almost all his body weight on it. It took almost 40 minutes but he managed to clean himself up and wash off all the blood, I'll have to take care of my bed later, he thought. He pulled on clean clothes and was about to leave when he glanced in the mirror and saw his tangled hair. He sighed and picked up a comb, Orochimaru's hair advice refused to leave his mind and he felt guilty if he didn't follow it. It felt like it was the least he could do since apparently everything was his fault. He didn't notice at first, but as he started to comb out the knots tears started to gather in his eyes.

He left the bathroom and limped back to his room and hung up his towel. Hunger twisted his stomach and a wave of nausea and dizziness washed over him. I haven't eaten since yesterday morning, echoed through his mind. He slowly made his way into the hallway then limped towards the kitchen. Every step filled him with dread; he didn't know what kind of reception he would get.

He entered the room and tried his best to not show that anything hurt. This plan failed, as soon as he had appeared in the doorway his parent's stopped talking and just stared. Then they watched him limp across the kitchen and fumble around trying to make tea with one hand.

"Good morning Itachi." His father's voice sounded calm. Itachi ignored it regardless, purely out of habit.

"Good morning dear." His mother's voice reminded of fresh water, soothing and clear.

"Good morning," he managed to say between labored breathing from the exertion of hiding pain.

"You don't look well…" his mom started, then stopped suddenly. Itachi guessed that she'd looked at his father.

"You have the day off today." His father said, "You just have to be here by six pm. That's when your great uncle is getting here."

"Th-thanks." Itachi managed, though he could feel anger building and he was glad he was facing the other way. How could he just act like nothing had happened before? He'd almost twisted his son's arm off and didn't even sound like he cared.

He finished making tea and limped over to the table and made the second trip with the rest of his breakfast. He sat down at the table next to his mom, leaving a seat for Sasuke next to his father. This unfortunately left him right across the table from his father who just sat watching him.

"How is your arm this morning?"

He'd never brought up a "training injury" in front of his mom before, "which one? The right or the left?" Itachi replied staring down into his tea. He heard his mom breath in sharply.

"I believe it was the left."

Itachi looked up and met his father's gaze, "When I can feel it again I'll be sure to let you know." this was half true, it was still burning and he couldn't use it but it also went numb every once in a while.

There was silence in the room, all three of them just sat: Itachi staring at his father who was staring back and his mother looking at him concerned. As much as he hated to admit it, the night before had changed him. Everything felt useless: even with all his efforts he'd ended up with an arm that wouldn't work and a body that barely moved. It was a grim reminder that his body wasn't his to use, it was just a tool for his father's ambition and plans.

His father stood up, "I have some meetings today, I'll be home before six." He walked around the table and kissed his wife then he paused. He reached over and put a hand on Itachi's right shoulder. Itachi tensed at the touch. His father nodded then left.

Itachi and his mom heard the front door close then she looked at him exasperated, "you are not ok! Do you need ice?" she stood up frantically running to the freezer.

"I'm fine mom." Itachi lied.

"I'm sick of hearing that from you," she was stern but gentle, "You think I don't hear your yelling and screaming when you're training. But I do."

"It's just the way it is, learning to fight and be strong isn't pleasant."

"Itachi, you've known how to fight since you were small. You've always been fighting against your father. I know that if you could choose you wouldn't even consider this life an option, and as much as I would love to change it for you if I could, but haven't you ever thought about accepting it?"

"You're starting to sound like him." Itachi replied, taking a sip of tea.

"You're putting yourself through unnecessary pain. You're trying to make a statement, I understand, but seeing you get hurt all the time…" she never finished.

Itachi slammed his mug down, "get hurt? Is that what you think this is? You think I just let myself get injured because I think that will change things?" he tried to stand up and face his mom but his leg gave out and he ended back in his chair. "It's him. He's the one that does it. He and I have never agreed on anything and when I choose to have my own opinion or show displeasure I have to go through training" he said the last word bitterly, "it's not training. It's conditioning. He thinks that if he hurts me enough then eventually I'll be too scared to say anything against him or have my own opinion. Well that's not going to happen!" his voice was rising slowly, "I may be stuck here and that may never change, but as long as I am able I will do everything in my power to go against what he says because all he is is a bully. Not just to me but to everyone in this town! And right now I'm stuck in his control. He may have Sasuke wrapped around his finger but Sasuke won't be here forever!" he stopped and saw tears in his mom's eyes and knew he'd gone too far.

"I-I-Itachi… he just wants what's best for the family." The tears fell down her cheeks, "as your mother I do what I can to make sure he doesn't overdo it, but as his wife I have to respect that this life is not peaceful and that my children will have to suffer to become good strong leaders one day." She stepped forward and lightly touched Itachi's cheek, "there are great things in your future here, if you shift your point of view you can see them."

"If I change my point of view then I change who I am as a person." Itachi said. He slowly stood up and limped out of the kitchen, leaving his mom alone. He had never walked out on his mom before, she had always been his ally but now it just felt like she was trying to change him too.

He started limping to the front door. I just need air and to be out of this place, he told himself. He managed to slip on shoes leaving them untied then pulled on a coat with his one arm. He slipped out the front door closing it quietly behind him. He would have slammed it but he wasn't mad at his mom just… He slowly walked down the path to the sidewalk and turned down the street.

As he walked his left arm was jostled a lot sending shocks of pain down his arm and up into his neck. He sighed, this was worse than anything before even the scars on his face hadn't been this bad. He used his right hand to gently lift his left arm and slide his hand into the pocket of his coat taking some of the weight off the shoulder joint. It helped a little.

He continued to walk, letting the cold February morning start to clear his head. The sun was bright but it didn't help, the brighter the sun shone the worse he felt, like a dark blight on the happy small town. I don't deserve to live here, he thought, not after what my family has done to this place. He limped along with his mind slowly spiraling into darkness, maybe it wasn't worth it anymore. He could work for his father and he would be able to protect Sasuke that way. His face was expressionless but tears started oozing out of the corners of his eyes. He had to accept it and play the part that life had given him. If he didn't who knew what would happen next? Broken bones? More scars?

"Itachi!" a cheerful voice surprised him from behind. Itachi turned and saw the spiky haired blonde guy holding two grocery bags. Itachi didn't say anything, just stared at him. The surprise had made his body flinch and now he was desperately trying not to react to the overwhelming waves of pain that were emanating from his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, did I scare you?" the man's face changed to concern, "you're crying…"

Itachi sniffed and wiped his face off, "no, I think I just got some dust in…" he looked up and Minato was holding out a tissue.

"It's ok to cry." He smiled. Itachi took it but didn't use it.

Itachi turned to keep walking, he didn't want to talk to this guy right now.

Minato watched him go, there was something odd about the way he was walking, like he was favoring his left leg. Minato scowled then jogged to catch up with Itachi, "hey! I was hoping I would bump into you," he reached out to touch Itachi's shoulder.

For a split second the world went bright white then black and spotty and the next thing Itachi knew he was lying on his side grabbing his shoulder.

Minato wasn't expecting this and stepped back quickly, looking around frantically then back to Itachi on the ground. He knelt down, "Itachi, Itachi can you hear me?" he watched as sweat covered Itachi's forehead and he yelled.

The pain was too much, but it wasn't just the physical pain anymore. All of the hatred and sadness from his life came and overwhelmed him, Itachi closed his eyes and passed out on the sidewalk.

Minato tried not to panic, he didn't know what had just happened or what he'd done to trigger this reaction. He had noticed Itachi grab his shoulder before falling so he gently peeled back his coat and the collar of his shirt and saw the red and purple swollen joint. He grimaced, so that was it. He had to do something, he couldn't just leave this kid unconscious on the sidewalk.

He grabbed his grocery bags and slid them onto his wrists, then he grabbed Itachi's waist and slowly started back down the sidewalk to his house, at least it's not that far away, he thought. He went up the front steps then kicked on the door, "Kushina! Come quickly"

A woman with long red hair appeared in the door way and let out a tiny gasp, "Minato, what happened?!" she stared at him with large eyes.

"I'm not exactly sure, but he needs to get to a doctor. Can you grab the keys to the car and take these bags for me?" he grunted, the weight of Itachi's limp body was more than he had expected.

"Here!" Kushina handed him the keys then slipped the bags off Minato's wrists. "Are you gonna be ok carrying him? I can help…"

"No, you stay. He doesn't take well to strangers and I don't think he'll wake up very pleased anyways." Minato started back down the front steps to the driveway and opened the back door of a small old car. Kushina ran over and helped him pull Itachi into the back seat and buckle his seat belt.

"Will you be ok? You don't even know who he is…" Kushina looked warily at the unconscious body in the back, "he could be crazy for all we know."

"I couldn't just leave him… he seems fairly well dressed though and they live somewhere in this neighborhood. And," he paused, "I've bumped into him a few times already." Minato pulled himself into the front of the car, "I shouldn't be gone all day, sorry…"

Kushina smiled, "no, it's fine. Go and help him." She stepped back from the car and watched her husband start the engine then drive down off out the driveway and down the street. She turned and walked back to the house. A small kid with blonde hair appeared at the door.

"Mom, where is dad going?" he asked.

"He's taking a friend to the hospital, he'll be home soon!" Kushina smiled at her son.

Itachi's eyes slowly opened. At first all he could see was white and blurry figures walking past in front of him. He was sitting up and leaning against something but everything was still blurry. He let out a small groan, everything hurt. He could smell disinfectant and hear odd beeping noises. Where am I? The last he remembered was seeing the blonde guy and then seeing the sidewalk get really close to his face. Whatever he was leaning against suddenly shifted. Itachi jolted in surprise then grabbed his arm as pain rolled through his body. He wished he was unconscious again.

Minato looked over and saw that Itachi was awake. He put down his magazine, "Itachi, I was starting to worry I'd have to carry you back to the examination room."

Examination room? Why was that voice so familiar? Why did it know his name? Itachi looked over and saw that he had been leaning his head against the blonde guy's shoulder. "What's happening?" he managed to groan, still not fully awake.

"You passed out on the sidewalk." Minato said.

A man in a long white coat came out of a door and walked over to stand in front of Minato, "we're ready to see you now, I apologize for the wait but things have been very busy this morning."

"It's fine." The Minato looked over at Itachi, "it's your turn, go ahead. He's a friend of mine so you'll be fine." He smiled encouragingly.

Itachi stayed seated and started to breathe heavily, the beeping was ringing in his ears and all he could smell was alcohol, "am I at the hospital?" he asked though he already knew he was.

"Yes." The doctor replied, looking down at the tense figure in the chair.

"I can't be here." Itachi was started to panic. His family had their own doctor and he'd never been to the hospital before. What if his father found out?

The doctor frowned, "If you really are uncomfortable you don't have to see anyone, though given your condition..."

For some reason the panic wouldn't stop rising; Itachi swallowed nervously what if this guy wanted his eyes? What if he was faking? He couldn't just get up and walk out. He started to sweat and he got chills.

"Itachi, calm down, I can take you home." The voice sounded very far away.

"no." going home was almost worse than being here. Itachi tried to blink away the black spots that started to appear in his vision. "I-I-I can… g-g-go b-back." He tried to stand up but his leg buckled and he fell forward.

The doctor caught him, then looked at Minato, "how exactly do you know him?"

Itachi vaguely heard voices fading into the background as his vision went black again.

Minato sighed and stood up then helped the doctor pull Itachi to the back and lift him onto an exam table.

"Minato, where did you find him?" the doctor asked.

"He lives somewhere in my neighborhood, I've talked to him a few times when I bump into him on the street on my way home for work. He's an odd character, very closed off, but never looked injured before then he just collapsed. I couldn't leave him there, Konoha isn't exactly the safest place." He looked over at the unconscious boy lying on the exam table. "I can cover any medical expenses."

The doctor smiled and laughed a little, "oh Minato. You really are too nice to strangers." Then he straightened up, "alright, let's revive him and get started." He walked over to a drawer and pulled out smelling salts and waved them under Itachi's nose. Itachi groaned and his eyes fluttered open.

Itachi saw Minato and the doctor's face looking down at him. He closed his eyes again and sighed; there was no getting around it. He knew he wasn't ok and if his family wasn't around to see he didn't have to put up a front. His panic seemed to have passed now that he was out of the waiting room.

"Glad to see you've relaxed a little." The doctor said and smiled, "now, do you have any idea why you might have collapsed?" Itachi didn't respond and broke eye contact. "Well, if you don't know then we are going to have to do a full physical."

"No" Itachi started, he got the feeling that if this doctor saw the evidence of any of his other injuries he would start asking questions. "I hurt my arm and I guess it just hurt a lot."

"Can I have a look at it?" the doctor asked.

"…sure…" Itachi was hesitant, having the doctor look at it meant taking off his coat and his shirt and that would hurt a lot.

Minato helped him sit up and slide his coat off, then he moved to take off his t-shirt. "You don't have to do that, I can just roll up your sleeve and if it's really bad we can cut it off so you won't hurt yourself anymore." The doctor said gently and rolled up the sleeve. His eyes widened and he whistled quietly when he saw the shoulder joint, "how did this happen?"

Itachi was quiet. Then slowly started, "I do martial arts and my opponent at practice was a little rough…" it wasn't totally a lie.

"I think a little rough is an understatement. It looks like he was trying to twist your arm off."

"It just dislocated, that's all." Itachi said, wincing as the doctor gently applied pressure to the swollen joint.

"I'm going to have to get this checked for muscle damage. Though," he paused and looked Itachi in the eye, "I'm pretty sure that there is." He took a step back and looked Itachi up and down, "Is there anything else?"

Itachi bit his lip, he could still walk so the leg wasn't that badly injured. "n-no" he looked away quickly.

The doctor sighed and picked up a reflex hammer, "great, then you wouldn't mind if I just tested to see if everything is ok nerve-wise?"

"Go ahead." Itachi said.

The doctor started on his left knee then moved to the right. As soon as the doctor hit the joint and his knee moved he winced. The doctor raised an eyebrow. "Still think your shoulder is the only problem?"

"My opponent might have hit my leg somewhere in the match but its fine." Itachi said. In truth he hadn't even bothered to look at his leg because his shoulder hurt so much.

The doctor rolled up his pant leg until he saw the deep purple bruise that had formed over Itachi's knee. "Tell me, does your coach usually allow such roughness without consequence in practice?" the doctor narrowed his eyes.

"It's learning how to fight, it gets rough." Itachi replied.

"And how about your other shoulder? Did that happen in practice to?"

"Yes." How did he know about both arms?

"What about those scars on your face? Old martial arts injury I'm guessing?"

Itachi scowled, "my face is fine, and that was a long time ago."

Minato noticed Itachi getting uncomfortable and stepped forward, "you said you would need to look into his shoulder more?"

The doctor sighed and turned away, "yes, I think it's best if we do an MRI as soon as possible. I'll be right back with some paperwork and something for you to change into." Then he paused, "I think full body would be best, we can take a look at that knee too and check the other shoulder as well." Then he walked out of the room.

There was an awkward silence as Itachi sat and looked at Minato. "Why did you bring me here?" he asked, "you don't even know me."

Minato sighed, "You were hurt, and I couldn't just leave you on the sidewalk could I?"

Itachi was quiet. That made sense but he still didn't feel like he could trust him. "You kept talking to me…"

"Is it wrong to be friendly to people who live in your neighborhood?" Minato shrugged, "guess I'm just not used to this town yet, the people here are very different they seem to be very cautious."

Itachi felt a stab of guilt in his chest, they were cautious because his family terrorized them. They were different because lived under the thumb of a violent man. "Yeah, I guess." He couldn't look Minato in the eye. "I'm sorry I broke your fence yesterday… I can fix it."

Minato laughed, "I already did, but thank you for apologizing." Then he looked over, "you really do look familiar and I can't imagine where I might have seen you before we talked that first time."

This caught Itachi by surprise, "I don't know…" he started, but the door opened and a nurse came in and handed him a stack of papers and a hospital gown. She walked over to the drawer and took out a pair of scissors.

"Doctor said we have to cut your shirt off so we don't aggravate your shoulder anymore." Then she walked over and started to cut straight up the middle of the front. Then she cut a seam along both shoulders and the shirt fell away. "Change into this and remove any metal from your body, this includes piercings." She turned and left the room.

Itachi sighed and slowly pushed himself off the table, "I might need some help with the back of the hospital gown…" he said and Minato nodded. He slipped his arms through the holes and let Minato tie up the back, then he slipped his pants off from under the gown. It felt a little weird to be standing in a room with a stranger wearing nothing but a hospital gown, his socks, and underwear.

"I'll let you fill out the paperwork, don't worry about anything I can cover everything." And Minato left the room. Itachi sighed and sat in one of the chairs against the walls and slowly read through the papers, signing and checking off boxes as he went.

An hour later he found himself in a room with a big machine. He was lying down on a narrow mattress.

"It's very important that you don't move while the MRI is being done. If you feel uncomfortable in small dark places please tell me now."

Itachi shook his head no.

"Great, now just stay still and it will be over before you know It." the doctor said encouragingly.

Itachi was worried, he didn't know if his eyes would show up any different on the MRI and he certainly didn't want any questions about why his eyes mysteriously changed to red. He also didn't know if there was any evidence of other injuries would show up. If they did he would have to answer a lot of questions.

After he was done he was sent back to the room he was in before and told to get dressed again. He pulled on his pants and shoes then stopped, he didn't have a shirt anymore. He just sat on the exam table and waited. Thoughts of his father finding out about his doctor's visit started to plague his mind.

Minato was about to knock on the door when the doctor stopped him, "Minato I need to talk to you." The doctor's face was worried.

"Yes?"

"We are going to need to take some blood samples." The doctor whispered.

Minato frowned, "for a shoulder?"

"No," the doctor hesitated, "we found something unexpected. Normally we would tell his parents but under the circumstances I feel I should tell you. This isn't the normal way I would go about things and I'll tell him, but I need you to help me."

"What do you mean?" Minato narrowed his eyes.

"He seems to trust you a little at least. You see, we found some abnormalities in his stomach and I'm going to have send the MRI to a specialist to look at it. I also want to take a blood test to send with it."

Minato started to worry, "alright…how about the shoulder?"

"I'll tell him that right away." The doctor said then knocked on the door.

Itachi looked up as the doctor and Minato entered the room. Minato looked concerned but just sat down and without saying anything. "So, how did stuff look?" Itachi asked mentally preparing for the worst.

"There is some severe muscle damage in the shoulder and it looks like you snapped a tendon. It will take surgery to fix it, but the muscle damage will heal with time. Your leg is fine but the bone is bruised. There isn't anything we can do for that except say to stay off of it, it will hurt for the next few weeks but that will go away. Your right shoulder is just strained and that should be better in a day or two."

Itachi nodded, the word surgery worried him. If it was that bad it would mean having to tell his father. "Is surgery absolutely necessary?"

The doctor looked at him with eyes narrowed, "if we don't operate it could heal wrong and not work properly again."

Itachi sighed in resignation, "when does it have to happen?"

"It should happen in the next week or so, until then you need to keep it in a sling." He handed Itachi a black sling. "Figured that color would match most of your clothes."

Itachi took it wordlessly but didn't put it on right away.

"There is something else I need to tell you." The doctor said quietly.

Itachi felt his blood freeze. They noticed my eyes, I need to get out of here.

"We found some abnormalities in your stomach." The doctor started, "do you find often experience nausea?" he looked at Itachi's face.

"Sometimes…" this wasn't where he had expected the conversation to go.

The doctor nodded, "I'm going to be sending the images to a specialist and hopefully he can tell me what's going on. I'm also going to need some vials of blood for testing. I don't want to ignore this in case it's something serious."

The words hit Itachi like wall. I can't be sick, he thought. "Um," he swallowed, "I'm not sick…" he couldn't be.

The doctor looked at him, "if you're worried about your parents, you don't have to tell them. You are legally an adult. But I highly recommend that you let us look into this." He gently touched Itachi's right arm, "a nurse will be coming to take some vials of blood and then you can go. You can leave a phone number with the front desk that we can contact you by." He turned and left the room.

Minato sat and looked at Itachi, he looked like he was in shock. He stood up and took off his coat then started unbuttoning his shirt. "Guess they didn't think about giving you a new shirt after they cut yours up," he tried to lighten the mood and handed Itachi his flannel shirt.

Itachi took it hesitantly, looking over at Minato who stood there in a white t-shirt. "I-I…" he started. His whole world was collapsing in on itself. Then he remembered what his father had said that morning, "what time is it?"

"Almost three."

Itachi relaxed a little, he still had time. He slowly pulled on the flannel shirt, wincing as he pulled it over his bad shoulder. He buttoned it up and pulled the sling on; he wouldn't be able to wear the sling at home.

There was a tentative knock at the door, then the same nurse entered holding a box. "I'm here to take some blood?" she asked.

Itachi nodded and watched her come towards the table and put the box down. She silently took his right arm and rolled up the sleeve then wiped iodine on it and prepped some vials. Itachi looked away as she inserted the needle into his arm and felt his blood move into the tube.

It was over in a few minutes and pretty soon he had a band aid on his arm and the nurse left. "Shall we go?" Minato asked. Itachi nodded yes and carefully pushed himself off the table. He limped after Minato to the reception desk where he left his cell number. They said they would call him with the results of the blood test in the next week and then they could schedule surgery.

The two left the building and walked to the car. They walked slowly as Itachi limped along. When they got to the car Itachi hesitated, "Minato…" he started then looked at the man with yellow hair, "I… th-thanks…" he managed to say.

Minato looked over and smiled, "you're welcome." Then he climbed into the car. Neither said anything as they drove back to their neighborhood. When they reached Minato's house he pulled into the driveway. He paused before getting out of the car, "you are welcome to stay and eat before you go back home. I'm sure my wife would like to know that you're fine."

Itachi glanced at the clock, it was almost four. "I think I could say hi…" he didn't really want to, but it was better than going home right away and staying in his room.

Minato smiled, "great!" they both got out of the car and walked up to the house and Minato opened the front door, "I'm home!" he yelled, then kicked off his shoes and disappeared into another room.

Itachi stood in the doorway uncomfortable. The house felt very different from his: it was small but it felt homey and warm, he could hear voices drifting into the room from what he assumed was the kitchen, he could smell food and it made his stomach twist with hunger.

Minato walked back into the room followed by a woman with the brightest red hair he'd ever seen. "Itachi, this is my wife Kushina." Then he noticed Itachi still standing in the doorway, "please come in and sit down!" Itachi walked in slowly and sat down in the nearest chair.

"I'm glad to see you're ok! I was really worried, it's not every day that your husband drags and unconscious person up your front steps with the groceries." She laughed as she said this.

There was a loud noise from the down the hall then the sound of running feet. "Daaaaad!" an excited voice cried as a boy around Sasuke's age bolted into the room and jumped at Minato.

Minato caught boy and hugged him, then put him down, "Naruto, I'd like you to meet my friend Itachi." And he pointed at Itachi.

Naruto frowned and tilted his head sideways, "I've seen you before…" he paused and thought, "You pick up Sasuke after school every day!"

Itachi looked at the little kid, remembering how his little brother used to act, "y-yeah. He's my…" he couldn't bring himself to say it. "Brother…" he finished quietly.

"That's where I've seen you!" Kushina pointed at him, "You drop him off in the mornings! I used to talk to your mom sometimes, I wondered why she'd stopped coming."

His mom, Itachi remembered what she had said this morning and he could feel it weigh down on his shoulders. "Yeah. I was at school."

Minato noticed a shift in Itachi's demeanor when they brought up his family so he tried to change the subject, "is anyone hungry?" he looked at Kushina.

"Ah, I left the stove on!" she jumped up and ran for the kitchen.

"So, Sasuke is your brother?" Naruto asked. He had walked over and sat next to Itachi on the sofa. "Sasuke is my rival, and I'll beat him some day! Believe it!"

Itachi was shocked by the bold words. Minato's eyes widened, "Naruto… I'm not sure that's polite to say…"

"It's fine." Itachi said quietly, then he looked at Naruto. "Sasuke is my rival too." He managed to half smile.

There was a loud thump from the kitchen, then the sound of the oven slamming shut. Kushina walked back in with a plate of cookies and smiled nervously, "ha-ha well, I wasn't too late." She put the cookies on the coffee table and sat back down.

They sat and talked for over an hour, Minato told Itachi about where they used to live and their old town, "it was a college town, but it wasn't the best raising a child there surrounded by all those rowdy college kids." He paused, "my niece actually goes to school there currently, and she's visiting us soon. You might find her interesting."

Itachi nodded, then checked the time again it was almost five thirty. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. I need to be home by six…" He carefully stood up.

Minato stood up as well," I can drive you back if you want."

"No. I'll be fine, it's not that far to my house." Itachi said quickly.

"Please come again!" Kushina smiled, and walked to the door with Minato.

"Thank you again." Itachi said then went slowly down the stairs. He walked down the street trying his best not to limp, he had to start getting mentally ready for whatever lay ahead of him and meeting his great uncle.

He got to the front of his house right at five fifty. He paused before walking up to it, it was already growing dark and the streetlight was on. He looked down at his arm in the sling. It has to go, he thought. He didn't want to take it off, but he knew that his father would be angry if he knew that he had seen a doctor who wasn't connected to the family. He reluctantly took the sling off and winced as his shoulder ached. He shoved the sling into his coat pocket and walked up to the house.

He walked in and was surprised when he didn't see anyone around. "Mom? I'm home…" he said as loudly as he dared, but he was greeted with silence. He checked his phone, no one had called him or texted him. He limped down the hallway to Sasuke's room and knocked on the door. It cracked open and Sasuke peeked out and scowled.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Is mom home?"

"In the basement with dad." Sasuke replied then slammed his door.

Itachi went to his room, just another happy day at home. He peeled off his coat and put the sling on his desk. He looked over at his bed; someone had changed the sheets and the pillow. He had just sat down at his desk when the doorbell rang. It was time.

He slowly left his room and met up with the rest of his family in the living room. His father nodded in his direction. His father opened the front door and a tall man with an angry face walked in. he had long thick shaggy hair that covered half his face. Itachi swallowed, he sensed that this man was very powerful.

The man looked at all of them, "hello Fukaku." He said then stared at Itachi for a minute then shifted his gaze to Sasuke then back to Fukaku. "I'm Madara, now which one of you is Sasuke?"

Sasuke stared up at the large man who was going to train him. Part of him wanted to lie and point at Itachi and another part of him was proud that this terrifying person was here just for him. "I am." He said in an even voice and looked Madara in the eyes.

Madara looked him up and down silently, then nodded and looked back at Fukaku. "He has promise." Then he looked over at Itachi, "who's that?"

"That's Itachi," Fukaku said.

Madara looked at him then frowned deeper, "Why am I not training him? He's older."

Sasuke scowled, "because I'm going to be head of the family, not him!"

"Sasuke!" Mikoto's voice was stern.

Madara smirked and laughed a little, "I see." Then he stepped farther into the house. "I'm tired from traveling, where can I put my things?" he looked over at Sasuke, "we start tomorrow and I need rest."

"This way." Mikoto said, then led him through the house to the guest room. Sasuke left to go back to his room and Itachi was about to turn and go when he heard his father clear his throat. He stopped.

"Itachi, that's not your shirt." The voice was quiet and calm.

Itachi looked down at the green and white flannel shirt he was wearing. He had forgotten that Minato had lent it to him after his own shirt had been cut up. "I got it today." It wasn't a lie.

"Not your usual color choice." The voice was still calm but now it was probing.

"Thought I'd change it up a little."

"How is your shoulder?" Fukaku asked.

"It hurts." Itachi replied, he remembered what the doctor said about his opponent wanting to rip his arm out of its socket.

"As it should." He walked up behind Itachi, "remember this pain the next time you're thinking about doing something against me. If you think I'm hard on you just wait until you train with Madara." Then he walked past and into his office.

Itachi sighed, then walked back to his room slowly. He put the sling back on and sat at his computer. He had another e-mail from Hidan:

Hey Itachi,

You still haven't texted me, I hope everything is going ok? Anko and I still haven't heard anything from Oro either. Please tell me how you are, I miss you guys. Your pink haired friend has started hanging out with Anko and I hoping that she'll see you again. We all miss you. It's not really the same here. I haven't told Anko yet but I'm thinking of transferring somewhere else.

Please e-mail me back,

Hidan

Itachi sighed, then clicked the reply button. It would feel good to talk to Hidan and he slowly typed out a response. It wasn't long because he could only use one hand, but there was a small relief in replying, it was a connection to the one semester of happiness that he'd had.

He went to sleep not long after. He was exhausted after the day and as he crawled into bed he could hear voices from the living room talking quietly. He stared at the ceiling for a while, trying to listen to what the voices were saying but they were too far away. He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.

He had another nightmare. He was hanging from his right arm over a dark chasm with his arm getting weaker and weaker. He tried to reach up with his other hand but it was pinned to his side with the sling. He screamed for help but no one was around. He saw Sasuke come out of the darkness, but Sasuke looked like he was five years old again. He ran up and wrapped his arms around Itachi's waist but his weight was making Itachi's hand slip faster.

All of a sudden Sasuke turned into a snake that coiled around his body and started to squeeze until he could barely breathe. He shouted once more for help, then his hand slipped and he felt himself plummet into the darkness.

Out of nowhere a hand grabbed his wrist and he stopped falling. But when he looked up he couldn't see anything past the forearm.

"Please! Pull me up! Don't let me fall!" he shouted.

There was deep laughter in the distance and Madara appeared walking calmly out of the darkness. He grabbed Itachi around the waist and pulled him away ripping the hand out of Itachi's grasp. "You're the oldest then?" Madara said, "You'll do just fine." Itachi struggled against Madara's grip but he couldn't do anything.

Itachi's eyes snapped open. He was breathing hard and was covered in sweat. He groaned, the nightmares needed to stop or he wouldn't get any sleep. He sighed and got up, then walked over to his shelf and picked up a novel and sat back down on his bed and read until he couldn't keep his eyes open.


	6. Chapter 6

A week had passed since Madara had come to stay with the Uchiha family. The house had become filled with tension and more silence than usual. Sasuke had finally started his training sessions with Madara and seemed to be enjoying learning new things. Itachi and his father hadn't had a trained since the incident with Itachi's shoulder which Itachi found odd.

He sighed as he closed the door to his room, his leg had healed as well as his right shoulder and now all that was left was the other one. It hurt enough by itself. Having to hide the sling while he was at home was the worst part: the weight of his arm continued to pull the shoulder out of joint and sometimes it would cause him to lose balance while doing the simplest of tasks. Whenever he got the chance he would take walks and put the sling on or wear it late at night in his room when he knew no one would walk in on him.

He walked into the living room and saw his father calmly flipping through sheets of paper on the sofa. He was about to go down the basement stairs when his father's voice stopped him.

"Don't bother."

Itachi turned around and saw him looking up from the papers, "I'm fine, it's just a sore shoulder, remember?" in truth he was getting antsy. Sitting around all day and just walking through the neighborhood was boring and even though he had hated the training days when the practice fights had turned into power struggles, he missed having something physical to do to occupy his mind.

Fukaku snorted, "Oh please, you haven't moved that arm in a week."

Itachi bristled, "you make no sense." But he walked back towards the hallway regardless, he didn't have the energy argue. As he walked by the kitchen he noticed the back door was open, he let out a breath and figured that maybe the cold air would help.

He stepped through the door and looked out into the small fenced in area that he had grown up playing in. it used to be mostly empty with space to run and a big tree with low branches that he and Sasuke would climb on. Now the tree was gone and the majority of the yard was taken up by his mom's garden.

His mom was there now tending plants. Even though it was still cold she liked to have flowers and plants growing year round. She looked up to see who had come outside and saw Itachi on the back stairs. She smiled and waved at him to come over.

Itachi half smiled and moved to walk over but he felt guilty. He hadn't talked to his mom much since they'd had their argument a week ago and while she pretended that none of it had happened and continued to smile and be pleasant he couldn't help but feel terrible for being angry at her.

"Itachi, how is your arm today?" she smiled up at him as she pulled small weeds out from between her plants.

"Gets better every day." He replied, he felt bad lying but knew that if he told the truth it might bring back their old argument.

"I'm glad to hear that." She paused, "what do you think of your great uncle?"

Itachi looked at the fence, he hadn't really talked to him at all since Madara spent most of his time locked in the guest room or in the basement with Sasuke. "He's… quiet." Was all Itachi could think of to say.

"He certainly is." His mom laughed quietly. The smile faded from her face, "I know it's not easy for your father having him here."

Itachi was silent, he didn't really care if his father was upset that Madara was there or not. In his eyes if his father was angry about something other than himself or Sasuke then it was a good thing.

"I know you two… haven't been training much together…" his mom started, "I… have you talked much?"

Itachi sighed and sat down in the garden next to his mom and slowly started pulling the weeds out of the ground around him, "we never talked before. Why would we start now?"

His mom shrugged, "I just thought I'd ask. Have you been around town at all? I know you've been walking around a lot since…" she couldn't finish the sentence.

"no." something about his mom's attitude seemed different, like she was trying to make him get along with his father. He decided to change the subject, "how have you been with uncle Madara around?"

"He eats a lot. I have to make more food than ever. But he seems quiet and strict. I do wonder what he's been teaching Sasuke, since I haven't been able to watch them train and neither of them says anything about it." she looked down at her plants.

"Hey, mom…" Itachi started hesitantly, "Do you remember talking to a woman with long red hair when you would drop Sasuke off at school?"

Mikoto thought for a moment, "Yeah… she was very friendly. Her boy is in the same grade as Sasuke. Why?" she looked at her son curiously.

Itachi looked away quickly, "no reason, she just told me to tell you to say hi next time I saw you. That's all." They sat in silence for a few minutes pulling up weeds and checking the plants to make sure that they were healthy.

Mikoto stood and brushed the dirt off herself then helped Itachi stand up and they walked to the shed. They put away the gardening tools and started to walk back toward the house when Mikoto stopped and gently tugged Itachi's sleeve, "I know he's harsh and rough and that he's put you through hell, but just remember that your father's life wasn't easy growing up."

Itachi scowled. "Maybe he was raised terrible, but that's still no excuse." Then he walked away from his mom and went back inside. She had never said things like that when he was little, she would never try to justify his actions. Why was she changing now? His mind wandered over to thoughts about Minato, did he ever get angry? Did Naruto ever get in trouble? He sighed, their lives were different: they were free to be happy and not be constantly reminded of their place or be forced into a life that they disagreed with.

He walked back to his room and laid lay down on his bed. He started to feel a little queasy and usually lying down helped. He closed his eyes and tried to think of calming things: picturesque sunsets, sunny days, tea, relaxing with Orochimaru… his eyes flew open and he felt himself start to gag. He got up quickly and ran to the small trashcan next to his desk. The wave of nausea passed but he stayed sitting for a while. He thought about Orochimaru and wondered what he was doing and if he really was going to follow through with his plans.

He closed his eyes and tried to put the thought out of his head. There was no way Orochimaru could have actually figured out how to live forever, it just made no sense at all, and if he didn't actually know how to be immortal he wouldn't need Sasuke. I'm lying to myself, he thought. Of course even if it wasn't immortality Orochimaru would still target Sasuke, it was his revenge.

There was a loud buzzing sound which made Itachi's eyes snap open. His phone continued to vibrate until it fell off his desk, he slowly leaned over and picked it up then answered.

"Hello?" the number didn't have a contact name so he was curious as to who would actually call him.

"Hello. This is Konoha hospital I am calling with lab results for Itachi Uchiha?" the voice sounded unfeeling and cold.

"this is him…" it was time to find out, the air grew thick with foreboding as Itachi heard papers shuffling around on the other end of the line. He swallowed nervously and stayed quiet.

"Alright, your blood work came back good there was no infection there. But your MRI was given further examination and the specialist we sent it to, Dr. Laura Ramona a specialist in genetic mutations and diseases, said that it looked like Menetrier's disease but she is going to have a follow up appointment and some more tests before anything is certain."

Itachi was quiet, so he was actually sick. "did you want to do follow up before or after shoulder surgery?" more appointments meant more sneaking around to the doctor and it was going to get more and more difficult since he didn't know how to drive.

"We can schedule both of those now, we can do the surgery within the next week, and we could do some tests before on the same day just to streamline the process. Is there any day where you can come in?"

"Any time I guess, the sooner the better." Itachi made a mental note to try to figure out how to get to the hospital without his father finding out.

A few minutes later he hung up the phone and added the appointment as an event in his calendar. At least I know it will be over soon, he thought. Though the idea of having a disease was gnawing at the back of his mind. The whole situation weighed heavily on him even though he still wasn't quite sure how to wrap his brain around it.

He checked the time: 3:00 exactly. He sighed and grabbed a sweatshirt, it was time to pick up Sasuke, probably one of the worst parts of the day. He left his room and headed for the front door glad that he didn't bump into his mom or father on the way out.

As he walked down the street the words "Menetrier's Disease" bounced around in his skull. Logically it made a lot of sense; he had always wondered why he got nauseated so much and why he had never eaten much. But at the moment it's just felt like one more thing to add to the list of reasons why he hated his family. If this disease was genetic than it meant it was another "gift" from his father that he hadn't asked for that was going to dictate the rest of his life.

The brick building loomed up in the distance and as Itachi drew closer he could see the crowd of minivans and mothers there to pick up their children. He wondered for the millionth time how Orochimaru had been able to show up and walk away with Sasuke and not be noticed by a teacher. He entered the crowd of people and checked the time, there was still a few minutes until the bell.

Out of nowhere someone tapped his good arm, "Itachi? Is that you?" he turned around surprised and saw Kushina standing behind him smiling.

"Oh, hi…" he didn't know what to say, he had been so wrapped up in thinking that he hadn't even noticed her in the crowd.

She looked him up and down, "glad to see you're out of the sling already! Are you picking up your little brother? I'm sure Naruto would love to see you!"

The words hit him at a million miles an hour and he barely had time to think of anything to respond with when she continued.

"I actually have a favor to ask you? You see Minato and I are going out tonight and I was wondering if you could watch Naruto for a few hours. I know its last minute but you aren't going to have to watch him alone, Minato's niece will be there too but I just figured that she might get lonely and Naruto keeps on asking when you can come again! You seem to have made quite an impression on him last time!" she stopped and looked at Itachi with big pleading blue eyes.

"I… Uh… I guess it couldn't hurt…" Itachi was hesitant, he actually hadn't officially babysat before. He knew how to take care of Sasuke, but that was all. "I still have to return Minato's shirt from last week." The prospect of not being at home for a few hours and actually have something to do aside from stare at the ceiling and try not to think about his shoulder was enticing.

The bell went off and the school doors opened and a mass of middle schoolers all excited that it was a Friday came pouring out. Itachi craned his neck to find Sasuke it usually wasn't hard since Sasuke had the darkest hair in his class and wore black almost every day.

"Naruto!" Kushina yelled and waved at a small kid with yellow hair. He turned and smiled big then ran over to where Kushina was standing.

"Hi mom! Hi Itachi!" he said then hugged his mom around the waist.

Itachi half smiled then gave Naruto a fist bump, "hey Naruto!" there was something refreshing about how innocent and nice Naruto was, it reminded him of how Sasuke used to be. It was almost painful to be around the smiling fifth grader.

"See you later tonight then, Itachi!" Kushina said then walked down the street with Naruto. Itachi waved and watched them go, then he turned back around to look for Sasuke. It was odd that he wasn't around yet.

He started to do another scan of the school yard when he saw Sasuke walk out the door with his teacher, she stopped him and handed him something then pointed in the direction of the street. Itachi couldn't tell what she had given Sasuke but he could tell that Sasuke was angry.

Sasuke walked over to Itachi with his head down. He didn't even stop to greet Itachi, he just kept walking down the street toward their house. Itachi let out a sigh and followed him. They walked in silence most of the way back home. When they were at the streetlight in front of their house Sasuke hesitated to walk toward the door.

"You get in trouble again today, Sasuke?" Itachi asked, he didn't even look at his little brother knowing that all he would get was a scowl.

"It's none of your business." Was the harsh response.

"You're teacher gave you something before you left…"

"I said it was none of your business." Sasuke yelled then stomped up to the front door.

Itachi sighed then followed his brother into the house. If it had been before the incident Sasuke would have told him everything and they would have taken care of it without their parents ever finding out. But those days are past, Itachi thought.

He walked quickly to his room and grabbed Minato's shirt and put it in his back pack along with the sling, may as well wear it if he wasn't going to be at home. He was walking out of his room when he opened the door and bumped right into Madara. Itachi stopped dead in his tracks and just stared up at his uncle, "I-I'm s-sorry…" was all he managed to say.

Madara scowled and looked down at Itachi, "going somewhere quickly?" he raised an eyebrow. It was almost the exact expression Itachi's father made when he knew Itachi was lying.

"Yeah." Itachi said and started to edge down the hallway towards the front door. Madara just stared and watched him go. Once he was around the corner and in the entryway he took a deep breath and realized that he was sweating. There was something about Madara that was absolutely terrifying.

Itachi's mom came out of the kitchen holding a vase of flowers, "Itachi, are you going out?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to the library for a while… probably won't be back for dinner if it's alright?" he hoped that she wouldn't pick up on his lie.

"That's fine, just let me know when you get home." She gave him a sad smile and walked toward the living room.

Itachi left quickly, he felt terrible for lying to his mom, even if she had been growing distant from him she was still the closest thing he had to an ally in the house. He sighed and walked down the street toward Minato's place. As soon as he made it to the next street over he put the sling on, it was a small relief that he wouldn't have to worry about it when he was out.

He knew he was early for babysitting so he wandered down to the library and perused the shelves for a little. It made him feel better that he was actually going to the library and not totally lying to his mom. He found a book on genetic illnesses and flipped through it looking for Menetrier's disease but he didn't find anything. He decided that it probably wasn't the best to research this sort of thing on his own and wandered over to the fiction section. He glanced over a few shelves then found an old looking book, he grabbed it and found a chair in a corner underneath the window and started to read.

After a while he was interrupted by something brushing up against his leg, he smiled and closed his book then looked down. "Hello Midnight, it's been a while." And he picked up a small black cat. It purred and settled down in his lap as he scratched it behind the ears. "Still guarding the books for me?" he asked quietly. When he was small he had found the cat as a kitten abandoned on the side of the street, his mom had said that they couldn't keep it so he'd brought it to the library. It ended up staying there and becoming a library cat and he'd helped take care of it.

The cat let out another loud purr and closed its eyes. Itachi picked up his book again, he stayed for about an hour then remembered that he had to head over to Minato's house. He gently picked the cat up and put it on the floor where it meowed loudly in protest. "Sorry midnight, but I'm already running late. I'll visit again soon, don't worry." Then he checked out the book and left the library.

He walked quickly over to Minato's house then walked up the steps and knocked on the door. There was some laughing then he heard footsteps and the door opened and Minato smiled at him, "hey! Glad you could make it! Please come in and make yourself at home."

Itachi stepped in and was overwhelmed by the warmth of the house, the smell of food, and the bright colors. He slipped his shoes off and took off his backpack then walked into the living room after Minato.

"Kushina! He's here!" Minato said loudly, "She's in the kitchen making dinner for you guys, I'm afraid my niece isn't much of a cook and you only have one arm." He looked over at Itachi's arm in the sling, "how's it doing by the way?"

"it's fine, just still hurts…" he started then looked Minato in the eye, he looked so concerned that Itachi felt bad for lying, "well, it's actually not much better than last week."

"Kushina told me you didn't have the sling on when she saw you earlier…" Minato asked cautiously.

"Yeah… I can't…use it at home." Itachi said hesitantly.

Minato opened his mouth to ask another question, but Kushina came running into the room, "are you ready to go?" then she noticed Itachi, "hi! Glad you made it!" she walked to a closet by the front door and took out a coat and pulled on some shoes, "so, Naruto has to finish his homework before he can play but he can have dinner whenever he's hungry, all you have to do is throw it in the microwave." Then she handed Minato a coat. "We'll be back in a few hours, if you have any questions our cell numbers are on the fridge."

"Alright." Itachi said then watched them leave. He was curious what Minato's niece was like so he decided to check the kitchen. He walked over to the door and was about to pull the door open when the door swung open and hit him in the face. "Ow!" he said and stumbled back a few steps grabbing his forehead.

"I am so sorry!" a voice exclaimed from the other side of the door, then the door opened again and a girl with punky brown hair rushed in. "Itachi?!"

Itachi looked up, "Anko?!" he stared in disbelief at his friend standing in front of him.

"What are you doing here?!"

"Babysitting, what about you?!"

"Minato is my uncle!" she was smiling now, then was about to run in for a hug when she noticed the sling, "Dude! What happened?"

Itachi was quiet, and looked away.

"oh." She said and nodded, "Naruto's still doing homework if you wanna catch up a bit."

"That'd be great." Itachi said, then they both sat down on the sofa. "So, how's Hidan doing?" he remembered what he had read about Hidan wanting to transfer.

"He's fine! We were both actually going to e-mail you soon, we decided to transfer together. He wants to be closer to his old friends and I want to be farther from my parents so it all worked out." She stopped talking and looked down, then looked over at Itachi again, "you know, Oro told us… Hidan and I that is, about your da-your father…"

Hearing Orochimaru's name again stung. "He did…?" Itachi tried his best to not get angry. What business was it of that snake's what his father was like? "What exactly did he tell you?" He managed to say through clenched teeth.

"just that you were going to live with him or something, something about him hitting…" she stopped herself, "Itachi I'm sorry, I don't want to make you talk about something painful for you…"

"You may as well find out." Itachi sighed, "My father is a strict and harsh person. The day that you had to watch my little brother with Hidan and Orochimaru… that was the day he told me I wasn't going to be continuing school. What he says goes so now I'm here." The memories from that day came flooding back.

"Itachi…" she started, then gently gave him a hug being careful not to touch the sling.

She would never know the extent of his life at home or even understand why he couldn't leave. She might not even ever find out about Orochimaru going insane, but her hug was the most comfort he'd felt in a long time. At that moment he didn't care that someone was around he felt tears coming and he couldn't hold them back.

They sat for almost 15 minutes, Itachi didn't say anything just let all the stress and anger drip from his eye sockets. He missed having friends, he missed having a safe space away from home, but he mostly missed being around people who wouldn't hurt him. Eventually he stopped crying and pulled away from Anko. She looked at him with concern showing in her eyes, "th-thanks…" he said quietly and looked away.

"Anytime." She said and smiled. All of a sudden there was a triumphant shout from the other room then footsteps running down the hall.

"Finished my homework!" Naruto yelled and came tearing into the room. He saw Itachi and jumped onto the sofa next to him, "hey! Mom said you were coming!"

Itachi smiled, "yeah, helping Anko watch you for a while."

"Yes! I challenge you both to a video game tournament!" then he jumped off the sofa and dragged them both back to his room. They sat and played at least five different games, though it was just Anko and Naruto since Itachi couldn't hold a controller and play with one arm.

"I think you should eat some food, little man." Anko said finally, putting down her controller after demolishing Naruto at Street Fighter.

"Fine." He said and scowled up at her, "but I demand a rematch tomorrow. I'll win, believe it!" then he stood up, "race you both to the kitchen! Last one there has to eat vegetables!" then he sprinted out of the room.

Itachi and Anko looked at each other and scrambled for the door, Itachi made it first then ran to the kitchen followed closely by Anko. "You only made it first because your arm is hurt!" Anko shouted when she got there, then she laughed.

"Whatever works, at least I don't have to eat vegetables," Itachi joked and threw a carrot stick at her. It felt like he was back at school again, but didn't have to worry about classes. He didn't feel like he had to be quiet or careful in this house and the relief was inexplicable.

They all sat and ate Dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets and mixed vegetables. Then Anko took brownies out of the oven and they made sundaes. After, they all lay around the living room tired and full of food.

"Itachi," Naruto asked, "Sasuke didn't get in trouble at home did he? It was kind of my fault today but the teacher didn't catch me…"

Itachi looked at Naruto, "I'm not sure, what happened?"

Naruto turned red, "I might have challenged him to see whose spitball could go the farthest in the cafeteria… mine went all the way across and hit the wall, but his hit the principal in the face…" he looked away from Itachi, "I'm sorry…"

"It's ok, but you should apologize to him tomorrow." Itachi replied he could just imagine what sort of reaction his father must have had and it probably wasn't good.

"I think I know what sort of punishment Naruto should get for getting other kids in trouble." Anko said smiling evilly. Then she pulled off one of the sofa cushions and threw it at him. He ducked out of the way quickly then picked up his own cushion and threw it back as hard as he could.

Pretty soon it had turned into a war with pillows flying everywhere, Itachi ducked behind an armchair with a decorative pillow and used it to deflect cushions tossed in his direction. Anko claimed the side of the sofa with the hallway, and Naruto had the entryway. Pretty soon Anko had grabbed the pillows from Naruto's room and a few blankets and had tackled Naruto. After the pillow fight had come to a three-way draw they decided to make a pillow fort and grabbed some books and read until they heard the front door open.

"We're back!" there was some shuffling by the door, then Minato stuck his head into the pillow fort, "you guys seem cozy, sorry to kill the party. But Naruto it's about time for you to go to bed." Then he disappeared and the blanket got ripped off the top of the fort.

Naruto made a pouty face then picked up his pillow and blankets and walked back to his room. Kushina smiled, "I'm glad to see you two got along. I was a little worried, Anko can be a little unexpected…" then she laughed nervously.

"Auntie Kushina!" Anko said giving her an annoyed look, "Itachi and I were friends at school! He knows my boyfriend and my friend Orochimaru that I was telling you about."

Kushina's eyes widened, "you mean he's the one who…" then she started to laugh uncontrollably.

Itachi stood there uncomfortably, "um… what did I do?" he looked pleadingly at Anko.

"Remember when you had to run that errand for me?"

He turned red, "oh yeah… I forgot about that…"

Anko laughed, "Well I will never forget, that was probably one of the nicest things you and Oro could have done for me." Then she started to put the sofa cushions back. They all picked the living room up then cleaned the kitchen.

Minato turned to Itachi, "well, it's almost 10 and I don't want to make your parents worry." Then he walked Itachi to the living room. He paused by the sofa, "Itachi… did the doctor call by any chance?"

"Yeah, they called earlier this afternoon," Itachi turned to face Minato. He realized that Minato had made them leave the room because he wanted to have this conversation in private.

"Is everything… taken care of?" Minato asked.

"Yeah, I have surgery in a few days. I actually was going to ask you if I could have a ride to the hospital…"

Minato frowned, "of course you can. Did they say anything about your stomach?"

Itachi was quiet, he had forgotten about it in the past few hours and he could feel reality creeping up on him again. "I'm sick…" he managed to get out, "something rare and genetic. I… need to see a specialist…"

Minato put a hand on his shoulder, "it'll be ok. They'll probably give you medicine and you'll be fine."

"Maybe… I'm just not sure I'll be able to hide it from…"

"Your parents?" Minato finished. Itachi nodded then looked Minato in the eye. "Itachi, I'm not sure that's the best idea. They could help."

"Not them. They would make it worse, they make everything worse," Itachi shrugged Minato's hand off his shoulder, "You don't know them, they aren't the kind of people who would care. It's just best they never know."

"No." Minato's voice was stern. "Look, you're an adult and you can do what you want, but if you are as sick as you say then hiding it will cause you more problems. Even if they are strict, they are your parents and you live in their house."

Itachi scowled and looked at the wall, he knew Minato was right but the consequences of telling his father something like this? They weren't worth it. "I can't. You think having a twisted arm is bad? You think that's the worst that's been done to me?" he stopped himself, "no. I can't tell him."

"Alright, but please think on it before you make a decision." Minato said.

They stood in silence for a minute, then Itachi picked up his bag and opened it, "I have your shirt." He said quietly. Then handed him the green and white flannel, "thanks again, for everything. I really do appreciate it and," he paused and closed his eyes, "I'll think about what you said, really." Then he closed his bag and moved to leave.

Minato smiled, "thank you for watching Naruto. He really looks up to you." Then he gave Itachi a hug, "that's from Kushina too, and please come over any time. Our house is always open, even if you just want to be away from your house for a few hours."

"Th-thanks…" Itachi said, suddenly uncomfortable with Minato's kindness. He turned and let himself out into the dark night. He walked slowly down the sidewalk weighing his options in his head. He didn't want to tell his father, he didn't know how he would react. Especially since that would mean having to explain going to a hospital and surgery. He could hide it from his family but they might get curious about why he was vomiting so much. He always had before, but it was getting worse. He had already noticed his appetite shrinking.

He walked past the houses with lit up windows until he reached his own closed off house, he realized that he still had the sling on. He groaned inwardly, he didn't want to take it off. Then he took a deep breath and set his jaw, he knew what he had to do. Then he walked up to the front door and slowly opened it.

He wasn't surprised when no one was around. He heard his mom in the kitchen washing dishes and could hear thumps from the basement which mean Sasuke was probably training. He stepped in quietly and took his shoes off then walked past the kitchen, "mom, I'm home." He said.

"Glad you're back!" she shouted from the kitchen.

"Where is father?"

"In his office. He's pretty busy though I wouldn't…"

"Thanks." He walked away before she could finish. He stopped by his room and dropped his backpack on the floor, then took a deep breath. He could feel queasiness building, but he swallowed and tried not to think about it.

He walked quietly down the hall past the guest room and paused in front of the office door. He looked at his arm resting in the sling, then knocked quietly.

"I'm busy." A voice said from inside.

"This can't wait… father." Itachi replied, feeling the nausea building again.

"Itachi, my work can't wait either."

He almost walked away, but he needed to get this over with, "No. I need to see you now."

There was a long silence, then an audible sigh, "fine. You can come in."

Itachi opened the door slowly, the nausea was rising faster now and he could feel tingling in his knees. He set his jaw and walked in and stood in front of his father's desk. He could feel his father's gaze look him over and settle on the sling.

"What the hell is that." He asked, he looked annoyed.

"I have to get surgery for my shoulder." Itachi replied in barely a whisper.

"I can't hear you." Fukaku's frown deepened.

"I'm not here to talk about the shoulder. I…" Itachi felt the nausea taking over and he felt his knees give out. He managed to make it to a chair on the side of the room before he completely collapsed. He swallowed hard a few times, he could feel sweat dripping off his forehead. He could feel his father staring at him. "I… I'm sick." He finally managed to get out.

"With what?" his father asked, sounding a little less annoyed. "If it's the flu you can bother your mom not me."

"No… it's not like that." Itachi panted, he turned to look at his father. "My stomach has…it's not… I can explain… I didn't choose to go…" he started to panic and looked down at the floor. Itachi heard the chair roll back and footsteps coming closer. "Please… I know it's not how we normally… it's my fault…" the footsteps were coming closer and Itachi could feel himself start to shake and he started to lose control of his stomach. "It's genetic… and it's rare…" he saw his father's shoes stop in front of him.

"Itachi" his voice sounded different, deep and commanding, but not harsh. "Breathe."

Itachi started to take in gulping breaths, then felt his stomach turn. He jumped up and ran for the trashcan and threw up. When he was done he just stayed there, he felt a little better now that the nausea had passed so he sat with his back against the side of the desk. He couldn't see his father anymore and he started to feel like himself again, "well. Congratulations, your oldest son is about as much of a failure as you always hoped." He laughed bitterly, "you have your wish: I can't fight you anymore. I can barely do anything without throwing up. Maybe it's a sign, I should've just gone with it, with everything. You can't make me listen, so now fate is."

His father was quiet for a long time, then walked over to the side of the room and leaned against the windowsill facing Itachi, "How long have you had the sling?" he asked.

"Aren't you listening? It's not about my shoulder anymore." Itachi scowled.

"You saw a doctor, I want to know when." His father scowled back, "How did you get there?"

Itachi was quiet for moment, he didn't want Minato to become a target for his father, "I collapsed on the sidewalk and woke up in the hospital, the person didn't stick around. Last week, the day Madara came."

"What did they do?"

"They had to do an MRI to check for muscle damage and found abnormalities in my stomach. Then they took some blood samples to send to a specialist." He answered as clearly and specifically as possible. It was best to get it all over with quickly.

His father looked at him for a long time, then he sighed, "What's done is done. What's the extent of the shoulder damage?"

"I have surgery next week to reconnect the tendon. I also have to meet with the specialist, she's testing for Menetrier's disease though they are pretty sure that's what it is." He looked straight ahead then added, "If I don't have surgery I could lose the use of my arm."

His father grunted. "Is this disease terminal?"

"I don't know… my guess is no."

"Well, that's certainly not what I ever expected to hear." His father said.

"Oh really? Guess what? It's genetic. Just another wonderful inheritance of the Uchiha." Itachi scowled and looked back at his father, "thanks a lot."

His father raised an eyebrow, "the Uchiha have never had any genetic disease."

"It had to come from somewhere." Itachi snapped back.

There was a long silence as the realization struck, Itachi stared up at his father, "mom…" then he looked away, "we never met her family…"

"No, by the time you and Sasuke were old enough to remember them they had all…died…"

Itachi leaned back against the desk and closed his eyes. Perfect, now he would die young. "I take it back then, for once its mom hurting me."

"Itachi… we didn't know you were sick…" Fukaku was quiet.

"I didn't know I was sick. But I guess it makes sense." Itachi picked himself up off the floor and grabbed the trashcan then walked toward the door.

"One more thing before you go," his father started, "your uncle Madara… what do you think of him?"

Itachi hesitated, he didn't think that telling his father that Madara was the most intimidating person he'd ever met was a good idea, "he's…different than anything I expected."

"He was supposed to be head of the family, but my father ended up being it instead. Madara trained me growing up." He walked around and sat back down at his desk.

"So? What does that matter?"

"He's not to be trusted. He's always scheming and plotting something, he's always felt slighted by the family."

"Shouldn't you be telling this to Sasuke? He's the one who has to train with him." Itachi had the weird feeling that he knew where this was going.

"Sasuke is going to be head of the family, he has nothing to plan or scheme. You on the other hand that position taken from you. I'm keeping an eye on you. If I see anything suspicious I will act on it. You will never take that place from Sasuke." He started shuffling papers around on his desk again.

"Of course, father." He whispered, then opened the door quietly and went to clean out the trashcan.

.:.

Sasuke closed his door. He frowned, what was Itachi doing in their dad's office? They weren't allowed in there except for rare occasions. Something had to be going on, that was the only explanation. What if he is still thinking of making Itachi head of the family?

He walked towards his bed the turned around quickly and punched the wall next to his door. He clenched his teeth, he trained harder and had to train with Madara who put him through grueling sessions. He did everything and never complained, why wasn't that good enough? Would he ever be good enough?

I won't be good enough until I beat Itachi, he thought. That's who all this was about, all he needed to do was beat him in training and prove that he was the better choice. Itachi had always been thin and he didn't look very strong, it couldn't be that hard, right?

There were footsteps in the hallway near Itachi's door. Sasuke ran over and listened:

"Itachi, make sure you get rest."

"Yes father."

"Don't tell your mother, I don't need her worrying more than she already does."

There was silence, then Itachi's door closed then the office door closed. Don't tell mom? Get rest? None of this sounded like his normal dad. Where was the screaming? The hatred? The fighting? Something was definitely going on.

Sasuke yelled and threw himself onto his bed. It didn't help that he'd gotten in trouble earlier and had to tell his dad. He'd gotten another lecture about what the perfect child Itachi had been and what a great student his older brother was. He snarled, how dare they compare him to Itachi. How dare they compare him to anybody?

He started to feel a familiar burning on his shoulder, but this time instead of the usual crawl across his skin it felt like the burning shot down his arm and across his chest until his whole body was on fire. He screamed, there was nothing else he could do. He needed to hit something. He crawled over to his bookshelf and found the facedown picture of him and Itachi, looking at it made the burning intensify. He screamed again and threw the picture against the wall with all his strength. The glass shattered and the frame splintered.

Sasuke didn't feel any relief. He crawled on his hands and knees to where the picture lay on the floor, shards and bits of glass stuck in the palms of his hands and in his knees but he ignored the cuts and picked the picture up. He stared at it: Itachi's smiling face, it was a lie, all a lie. He'd never cared. He growled and ripped the picture in half, then watched the two halves float down to the ground the half with Itachi's face on his right and the half with his face on his left. He slammed a fist onto the picture of Itachi smearing blood across it.

He leaned forward and rested his arm on his knees, the burning was starting to subside now and he was exhausted. He leaned his head forward and closed his eyes. He drifted to sleep surrounded by broken glass and splinters with blood dripping off his hands and down his legs.


	7. Chapter 7

It was a hot morning, one of those summer mornings that was so miserably hot that any sort of movement was unquestionable. But it is July after all, Itachi thought, trying his best to ignore the bright light glaring through his bedroom window. He lay flat on his back with his eyes closed trying not to sweat and trying to ignore the fact that it was morning and he would have to get up and be awake in the heat.

The front door slammed and there was a loud thump from down the hall followed by the sound of running feet. All of a sudden his door flew open and a small figure threw itself onto his bed causing him to bounce off the mattress and onto the floor.

"You don't have to do anything today!" an excited voice squeaked from the bed.

Itachi groaned and sat up, "Sasuke can't you knock?" then he smiled at his little brother, "is there some special reason I'm free today? I don't know, some kid's birthday or something, I could be wrong…"

"It's my birthday and dad said that he would let you have today off so you could hang out with me! Mom went with dad to work because she wanted to be in air conditioning so it's just us, we can do whatever we want!" Sasuke crawled to the edge of the bed and looked down at Itachi on the floor, "I say we run through the sprinkler."

"Why only run through the sprinkler when we could do anything?" Itachi stood and sat on the edge of his bed, "we could go to the pool?"

Sasuke's face lit up and he smiled, "really!?"

"Yeah, I'll make you some breakfast and we can go. Now let me get dressed." He reached over and tapped Sasuke's forehead with two fingers. He stood up and walked over to his dresser and pulled out a t-shirt and bathing suit, but as he pulled the clothes out of the drawer an envelope dropped to the floor.

Sasuke rolled off the bed a picked it up, "Itachi…what's this?" he read the front of the envelope then pulled a folded up piece of paper out of it. "What is this place?"

Itachi looked over and saw the envelope in Sasuke's hands. He sighed, "Well, I wasn't going to tell anyone yet… but I've been accepted to college and they were impressed with my grades and I got a lot of scholarships. Don't tell anyone Sasuke, it's really important that I do this myself, ok?" he took the envelope back and put it in the drawer and gave Sasuke a smile.

Sasuke looked up at his older brother, "when did you apply for school? Dad doesn't know does he…?"

"No, he doesn't. And I would like it to stay that way until the time is right, ok?"

"Alright!" Sasuke smiled then ran for the door, "I'll be ready to go soon!"

Itachi closed his drawer and changed quickly, "Sasuke! We aren't going until you've had breakfast!" then he pulled his hair back into its usual ponytail, grabbed his towel, and ran to the kitchen. He turned on the stove and quickly started making eggs then grabbed the orange juice from the fridge.

Sasuke ran into the room and sat down at the table, "I'm not that hungry. Why do I have to eat anything?"

"Because food is important if you are going to grow up to be strong and tall." Itachi replied and brought the plate of eggs to the table. He quickly made some toast then sat down with Sasuke.

"But you don't eat much…" Sasuke said as he started shove eggs in his face.

"That's because I'm already tall and strong." Itachi laughed, in truth eating made him feel nauseated sometimes. They ate quickly and then cleaned up the kitchen. Sasuke washed while Itachi dried and put away. After they cleaned they slipped on flip flops, threw their towels in a backpack, and headed out of the house.

The pool wasn't that far away so they walked through town. As the sun climbed higher their pace slowed down. It was getting so hot that sweat was dripping off their foreheads. They didn't see anyone else on the street which was pretty normal. The people of Konoha mostly avoided them unless they were with their mom. It made things a little odd because it felt like they didn't live in a town at all, it just felt like they existed in a fake place where no one else actually lived.

They got to the pool and it was almost empty. There was a sleeping lifeguard under an umbrella and an old lady on a chair in the corner. Itachi and Sasuke looked at each other and smiled then opened the gate, threw their bag against the fence, pulled off their shirts and shoes, then threw themselves into the pool.

The water was cold and refreshing and they stayed for a long time, splashing and jumping in. They swam around for a few hours until they were both exhausted, then sat on the edge of the pool with their feet in the water. "Itachi?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you want to go to school?"

Itachi sighed, "Sasuke, there is a lot more in the world than just Konoha. And I know that at some point I'm going to be stuck here forever because of… well, what our family does. I just want to experience life before that happens."

"Does that mean you're going to be going away?" Sasuke asked, he looked down at the bright blue pool water.

Itachi was quiet for a second, "yeah. The school is about an hour away. That means I'll be living there." He put a hand on Sasuke's head, "You'll have to hold down the fort while I'm gone."

"It's gonna be a lot quieter without you around…"

"You can liven things up I'm sure." Itachi laughed, then pushed Sasuke into the pool. Sasuke spluttered and pulled himself back out of the water and grabbed a towel.

"I'm tired. Let's head back before mom and dad get home." Sasuke laughed then shoved Itachi off the edge and into the water. Itachi pulled himself out of the pool and grabbed his towel and dried off, then pulled on his t-shirt.

"Alright Sasuke, grab the backpack and hop on." He said and let Sasuke jump onto his back. They walked back through town talking and laughing quietly. As they walked down the sidewalk they bumped into a man sweeping.

"Itachi! How is your mother?" the man asked.

"She's good," Itachi smiled, "this is Sasuke. He's my little brother. Sasuke, this is where mom buys tea." Itachi nodded in the direction of the man.

"Hi!" Sasuke waved. They didn't hang around very long and kept walking. They eventually made it back to their street and slowed down. Itachi hesitated to go up to their house and let Sasuke slide off his back.

"Do you think they're home?" Itachi asked.

"Maybe…" Sasuke said, "It is my birthday so dad might come home early today." They walked up to the door and entered the house. There was noise in the kitchen and some shuffling in the living room.

"Glad you two are back! Get changed and we can have some lunch!" Mikoto yelled from the kitchen.

"Ok!" Sasuke yelled and ran for his room. Itachi grabbed the backpack and headed back to his room where he changed quickly out of his wet clothes into a fresh t-shirt and shorts. He went to the bathroom and re-did his ponytail, using his fingers to get his hair to look mostly ok then walked down to the kitchen. He was finally hungry now.

When he got there he sat down between Sasuke and his mom and started eating. The meal was mostly silent, but Mikoto tried to make small talk. "Sasuke, are you excited? Someone's birthday is today."

Sasuke smiled, "of course I am! Today has been the best day ever!"

Fukaku managed to not look angry, "I'm glad. You have a big year to look forward to." He went back to eating.

"Yeah, Sasuke. An exciting year in school coming up. Starting fifth grade is an important time, and you get to actually go to school and make some friends." Itachi added, glaring at his father then turned quickly to smile at Sasuke.

Mikoto stood up quickly, "I think we might have something for Sasuke in the back yard, should we all head out now?" she smiled at Fukaku and Itachi. They silently stood up and followed Mikoto out of the house with Sasuke running out ahead.

"Hold on Sasuke, let's take a picture first since we are all here and it's nice out." She pulled a camera out of her pocket and put it on the porch rail. "Alright, now smile everyone!" then she put her arm around Fukaku and another around Itachi with Sasuke in the front. Sasuke smiled big but Itachi couldn't muster a smile, the best he could do was an almost half smile. Fukaku just frowned.

After the picture Mikoto disappeared inside the house and returned shortly with a box. "Happy birthday Sasuke." She said smiling and handed it to him. Sasuke took it and excitedly started ripping the paper off. He pulled out a backpack and looked at his mom. "It's for when you start school in a few months. But that's not the only thing, look inside!"

Sasuke opened the bag and pulled out a plastic package that held two rolls of bandages, "what are these for?" he asked.

"it's for when you start training. Itachi was younger than you when he got his hand bandages, you use them to wrap your hands so you don't damage the bones and muscles when you punch." Fukaku stood and walked over to Sasuke and put a hand on his shoulder then smiled down at his son.

Itachi tensed, what was his father doing? Sasuke wasn't supposed to start training, that's why he was going to start middle school. He bit back saying anything. This was Sasuke's birthday and he didn't want to ruin it. Sasuke was excitedly talking to his parents so Itachi decided to head in and get out of the heat when Sasuke casually mentioned something that made him tense up again:

"When Itachi is away then we can just train you and me, right dad?"

Itachi froze. There was silence behind him. He could feel his father's gaze settle on the back of his head and stay there. It felt like it was burning, he knew he couldn't go inside now and that the time to tell him had come whether he wanted it to or not.

"Sasuke, where exactly is Itachi going?" his father's voice had changed to a dangerous octave, almost a growl.

Itachi turned around and faced his father and his mom. "I'm going to school."

"And what makes you think that?"

Itachi looked over at Sasuke, "Sasuke, mom, I think you should go inside now." His voice stayed steady. He waited until he heard the back door close then looked back over at his father. "I was accepted to a college about an hour away. And I'm going."

"With what money? Because I sure as hell am not paying for this."

"I got scholarships, the rest I can afford myself." He could feel the itching start behind his eyes and he knew what was coming.

"Oh please, you have no money. And you know that you can't leave here. Not with your eyes." His father was inches from his face.

The itching was turning painful now and he could feel his eyes starting to water. "You know the deal, you said I had to have an education to be head of this family and that's where I want to get it." the volume of his voice was dropping because of the pain.

"You can take classes online and learn how to run the family at home. Going to school is out of the question and that is final." His father's voice was getting dangerously low. "I can't believe that you went around my back and thought you could get away with it."

"I've already put in my housing deposit. I'm not backing out. I want to have some kind of life before you make me stay here forever." He resisted the urge to scratch at his eyes, but the pain was starting to get unbearable. Tears started to pour down his cheeks.

Fukaku smirked, he knew Itachi was at the beginning of an episode it almost always happened when they fought. "Well then, go to college. Have a roommate. Good luck trying to hide your eyes from curious people and trying to explain those scars on your face. Have fun dealing with your episodes alone with no one there who you can tell," he grabbed the front of Itachi's shirt, "See if I care when you have to drag yourself to class bleeding from scratches around your eyes." Then he let go and walked toward the house.

Itachi heard the door close again and he collapsed onto the ground, his eyes burned and he started to claw at his face. He felt the pressure building behind his eyes and he curled up in the grass and screamed.

.:.

There was a faint beeping sound as Itachi breathed in deeply. Something wasn't right, he couldn't move. He opened his eyes and saw a white ceiling with bright lights. He tried to sit up, starting to breathe harder. Something wasn't right, he had to go. There was a sharp pain in his shoulder and he fell back against the bed.

"Well well well, look who's finally awake!" there was a cheerful voice to his right. "Never had to be a doctor for a former student before, but I guess there's always room in life for a new experience." A girl around Itachi's age moved into his line of vision.

"Dr. Ramona…" he managed to say, though his voice was raspy and quiet and his throat hurt.

"Don't stress yourself there buddy, you've had a long day." She smiled, "you do have some visitors though, you feeling up to it?"

Itachi nodded, his mother was probably anxious to see how he was doing. He closed his eyes trying to bring back the start of his dream. It had been one his favorite days, the start of it anyways. He heard footsteps and opened his eyes again, "mom….." but stopped, his father was standing in front him with an odd character he'd never seen before.

"Your mom was busy today so I thought I'd pick you up. I also wanted to talk to your doctor about your stomach and see how bad it is." His father was the quietest he had ever been before while talking to Itachi.

"Who's that?" Itachi nodded at the stranger.

"Ah. Itachi, this is your new best friend." Itachi raised an eyebrow, it was the only way he could react at the moment. "This is Deidara. Since you won't be able to do much on your own he's going to look out for you."

"A babysitter." Itachi rolled his eyes, "I'm fine on my own, I don't need some kid tagging along everywhere I go." He could barely make the words out.

"Hey! I'm not just some kid! I can fight better than most of the people who work for your dad!" then he turned to Fukaku, "Boss, I don't need this. Get somebody else to watch your brat." Then he turned to leave.

Fukaku grabbed the hood on the back of Deidara's black sweatshirt, "this is your job. Do it." then he turned to Dr. Ramona, "you are the doctor for his stomach, yes?"

Dr. Ramona nodded, "yes, you are his father? We need to talk about medications."

Fukaku turned back to Itachi, "I'll leave you two to get to know each other." Then he turned and left the room with the doctor.

The room was silent for a while as Itachi looked Deidara over: the guy looked shorter than him and was wearing all black and sneakers. He had long blonde hair with the front pulled back except for one long chunk that covered the side of his face. "So, your name is Deidara?"

Deidara scowled at him from across the room, "yeah."

"How long have you worked for him?"

"None of your damn business."

Itachi nodded, he didn't really want to talk to this guy either. They sat in silence staring at each other. Having a babysitter was the last thing Itachi wanted to happen, not only would this enable his father to keep track of everything he was doing, but it also meant that he would have to drag this kid everywhere, including Minato's and on his rounds.

Fukaku came back into the room with the doctor and walked to the side of the bed, "you can head out in a few hours. Your test results are coming back and then you'll get some medicine and then we can go." He didn't sound angry or disappointed. Itachi nodded. "So, I hope you two got acquainted you'll be spending a lot of time together."

A few hours later they were pulling into the driveway at the Uchiha house. Itachi was in the passenger seat with his arm almost completely immobilized and Deidara was in the back slouching as much as he could. Fukaku sighed and got out then walked around the car to the passenger side. Itachi scowled and opened the door before his father got there.

"Hey, boss. Do I have to hang around anymore?" Deidara was standing down at the end of the driveway and looked like he was ready to run down the street.

Fukaku sighed, "You can stay for dinner. And no that is not a request that is an order." Deidara scowled deeper and dragged his feet walking up to the house.

Itachi walked up to the door and let himself in. all he wanted to do was go to sleep. As soon as he stepped into the house he heard movement in the kitchen, "Itachi! You're back!" Itachi frowned, he thought his father had said that his mom was busy. He was about to ask her but then his father and Deidara appeared behind him.

Mikoto paused in the doorway of the kitchen, "how are you feeling? Glad you are on your way to getting better again!" Itachi nodded then moved to go back to his room.

"Mikoto, could you set another place for dinner? Deidara is joining us tonight." Fukaku said.

"Boss…" Deidara started. Fukaku just glared at him.

"Deidara, go do your job."

He sighed then followed Itachi down the hall. Itachi got to his room then turned around, "you really don't have to come all the way here." Itachi said.

"Apparently I do. So just deal with it." Deidara said and followed him into his room. Itachi carefully lay down on his bed and closed his eyes. "Geez do you do anything aside from clean?" Itachi opened his eyes.

"I don't need you to watch me when I'm sleeping."

"Actually, you might. Now that I think about it." Deidara sat at Itachi's desk, "considering that the Dragon Triad has been trying to get back together again. There has been some odd activity over by the abandoned apartments."

Itachi raised an eyebrow, "so that means I need someone to watch me when I sleep?"

"Probably not. But considering your current state," Deidara motioned at the sling, "if they decide to attack you or something you couldn't do much."

Itachi closed his eyes again, but he couldn't even doze off regardless of how tired he felt. There was one question gnawing at the back of his mind. He sighed and pushed himself up into sitting position, "He's making you do this because he doesn't trust me, right?" he glared at Deidara across the room.

Now Deidara raised an eyebrow, "look, he's just my boss. I do what he says and I get paid. I don't deal with politics or alliances I just stick with what gives me money." Then he gave Itachi a weird look, "why would he even tell me that? Geez you think I rank up there with the top dogs? Hell, I just started two months ago! The only reason he's making me do this is because we are around the same age so I would blend in better." He snorted, "Or he thinks you don't need much in the way of protection. Not that I'm bad at my job." he added quickly, "just not as seasoned as his older cronies."

"Great." Itachi said quietly. So his father's act of supposed concern was actually just another sign that he didn't trust him. He had someone to watch his every move even in his own house. On top of that, he was new and didn't even have much real world experience. If anything happened to him his father could just shrug it off and tell himself that he tried. He clenched his jaw, he could feel anger rising inside of him, but it felt pointless. He had one arm and a permanent babysitter, how much lower would he have to sink before his father would stop mocking him?

.:.

Sasuke panted, he was sore all over. He coughed and saw a small spray of blood hit the wood floor. He clenched his fists and grit his teeth then he slowly picked himself up off the floor and looked up into the face of his great uncle. Madara stood about five feet away with arms crossed and a disapproving look on his face. They had been training for hours but he had barely broken a sweat. "Stop wasting my time." Madara sighed.

"One more time!" Sasuke growled. He took a deep breath and launched himself at Madara. There was a quick exchange: Sasuke aimed a punch at Madara's face but it was casually swatted away and when he came around for a counter attack he got kicked in the chest and was sent sliding across the floor. This time he stayed down, partially stunned by the last hit.

Madara frowned, "I've been here for weeks and you don't show any signs of improving." He started to walk to the basement door, "I told your father you were too young. You're not ready for this. If only the other one wasn't so… problematic." He looked over his shoulder, "you're done for the night."

"No!"

Madara turned around. He looked over at Sasuke who was standing straight up and breathing heavily. This time, however he had black marks all over his skin and they seemed to be moving, spreading over his entire body. "Oh?" Madara smirked, "has the baby been hiding something?"

There was a horrific animal growl as Sasuke sprinted across the room and body slammed Madara into the door. Madara fell backward but managed to block most of Sasuke's hits as the two began to spar. The movements were entirely different this time around: the hits were more aggressive and came with more strength. The pace was a lot faster and soon both of them were breathing hard.

Sasuke was barely thinking, all he could feel was the burning covering his body. He hurt so much that he could barely see, all the movements had become one giant blur and his body was reacting purely on instinct. He wanted to scream and curl up until it was over. His stomach was full of knots and he could feel panic rising in his throat as the burning intensified. All of a sudden he pictured Itachi's face the night he'd found him locked in the training room, how he'd looked at him sadly then walked away. He let out one loud yell and pulled his arm back for a blow and struck blindly. He felt something solid under his hand then he blacked out.

He faintly heard laughing in the distance, a deep laugh that made his spine start to tingle. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that he was staring at the ceiling. He felt numb all over and his mouth was dry. He sat up slowly and felt his head start to pound, "w-what happened…" he asked, but his voice was quiet and strained.

The laughing got louder, "you actually showed potential for once." Madara stepped into his line of vision. He was smiling and there was blood oozing out of his split lip.

Sasuke frowned, "what did I just do?"

"You landed a punch." Madara replied and wiped his lip with the back of his hand.

"No, everything was on fire and I couldn't see…" Sasuke started.

Madara bent down so he was eye level with Sasuke, "I'm going to take a wild guess and say your dad doesn't know about this." Madara smiled again which made more blood start dripping down his chin, "let's keep this our little secret shall we?"

Sasuke gave Madara a weird look, there was something off-putting about his great uncle. He looked pleased with himself and the blood slowly dripping off his chin onto the floorboards made him look slightly psychotic. Sasuke stood up quickly, ignoring his aching body, and headed for the door, "yeah, sure, whatever." He said then left the basement.

Madara watched Sasuke leave then slowly stood up. He smirked, this kid is hiding something. He had seen some interesting curse marks and other enchantments used by people to make themselves stronger or live longer, but this one was new. And on a kid so young, he thought. He slowly licked some of the blood off the back of his hand. He closed his eyes and savored the taste of iron, it had been a long time since someone had landed a hit on him and he had forgotten the adrenaline rush that came with fighting someone who was an actual challenge.

"Oh Fukaku, you have some interesting kids." He said to himself quietly, then headed for the door to the basement. He walked up the stairs and headed for the guest room to change his shirt. As he was walking down the hallway Itachi walked past to get dinner. As he passed he caught Itachi's eye and smirked. Itachi gave him an uncomfortable look and quickened his pace. Yes, Madara thought, these kids are definitely interesting.


	8. Chapter 8

Sasuke tapped his pencil on his desk. His teacher just kept droning on and on about grammar and word choice and he just wanted the school day to be over. He could feel his eyelids getting heavy and the world was starting to blur. I could just sleep through this, he thought, who needs to know this stuff anyways. Then he remembered his parent's warning about getting in trouble at school. He blinked a few times to wake himself up and stared absently at the whiteboard.

There was quiet snoring from a few desks to his right. Naruto, he thought. That kid was always sleeping and arguing and proclaiming himself to be the best at everything. He looked over and saw Naruto's face on his desk with drool starting to drip out of the corner of his mouth. Sasuke smirked and looked back at the board, what a loser.

A few minutes went by but it felt like an eternity. At least they had changed over to doing example sentences now so he could stare at his worksheet and draw meandering lines all over the margins instead of having to pretend to pay attention. He started to fill in some punctuation in random places to pretend to do some work when something flew in front of his face.

He turned in the direction it came from and saw Naruto making a face at him. He scowled and reached into his desk to find something to throw back. He found a rubber band and a paperclip, it would have to do. He quickly tore a strip of paper out of his notebook, then unbent the paperclip. He re-bent it into the shape of a small "v" then folded the paper around it. He did a quick check to make sure his teacher wasn't looking, then aimed the rubber band and his constructed projectile at Naruto.

He was about to release the rubber band when there was a sudden explosion of pain from the back of his neck. He shouted and let go. He stood up and grabbed his neck, the pain had stopped just as suddenly as it had come. A second later there was a cry from the other side of the room. Sasuke looked over and saw Naruto holding his face.

It took all of three seconds for his teacher to appear at his desk. "Sasuke, what happened?" she asked, half concerned and half frustrated.

"Nothing." Sasuke said, turning bright red. He saw his whole class staring at him. Everyone except Naruto who was holding a hand over his nose in a vain attempt to cover the blood that was starting to drip down his face.

"Then have a seat." His teacher said with a sigh, "everyone get back to your worksh…" she stopped and stared at Naruto. Her eyes flicked from Naruto and his bloody nose to Sasuke who was suddenly very engrossed in his worksheet. She closed her eyes and sighed, why was it always these two? "Naruto and Sasuke, both of you in the hallway now."

"I'm good! I just need a tissue." Naruto said, his eyes darted from his teacher's unconvinced face to Sasuke's scowling face. He didn't want Sasuke to get in trouble again, not because of him.

"I didn't do anything." Sasuke said angrily, throwing a death glare at Naruto. He could feel the pain on his neck coming back and start to burn. He could feel panic rising, he couldn't lose control here.

"I said hallway. Now." Their teacher's voice was stern and cold. They both got up and left the room with their teacher following closely behind. Once they were in the hallway she closed the door and faced the two boys in front of her. "I don't care what reason you have or whatever excuses you have lined up this time, Sasuke. These outbursts of yours and targeting Naruto is getting out of hand. How many more trips to the principal's office is it going to take to convince you?"

"No! It's not his fault, I started it!" Naruto interrupted, "I shot a rubber band at him first…" he looked away from his teacher.

"Naruto, he's not the only one at fault. You two fight like cats and dogs and no matter how much I write notes and call home to your parents nothing seems to change." She folded her arms and looked at the two boys.

Sasuke stood quietly scowling up at his teacher, it was taking all his strength not to scream and react to the pain. He could feel himself start to shake and he felt sweat drip off his forehead. "It was an accident, I wasn't aiming for his face." He managed to get out quietly.

The teacher let out an exasperated sigh, "It's not where you hit him that's the problem, Sasuke! It's the fact that you wanted to shoot something at him in the first place! You resort to violence the first chance you get. I don't know how your parent's deal with this at home, but maybe that's the only solution." She looked at the two of them, "You're both done for today. Naruto, go to the nurses office and have them clean you up, then go home."

Sasuke opened his mouth in protest, then stopped to grab the back of his neck. He followed his teacher down the hall to the principal's office and sat quietly through the talk about behavior and morals and wordlessly accepted a slip of paper to give his parents. As he was leaving the office he saw Naruto going in, their eyes met and he scowled, wishing that looks could kill.

.:.

Of all the exercises that he had to be doing, pushups were the worst. Itachi struggled to get in at least one more before his shoulder groaned and he face planted onto the basement floor. The weeks of recovery had been torturous but having to gain back the strength of his arm was almost worse. The only bright side was that it didn't hurt anymore.

"Well, that's a few more than last time. It's slow but it's progress." His father was leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. He had decided that it was his personal job to make sure that Itachi's shoulder recovered quickly which made for hours of time spent with Itachi in the basement doing exercises and sparring.

Itachi picked himself up slowly and sat up, he could feel his arm start to shake and knew it was past its limit. He didn't respond to his father. Most of the recovery had been done in silence. Ever since he had told his father about his stomach he had been around more and yelling less. He hadn't been hit since that day, in training or otherwise.

"Get up. We're sparring. Unless you want to start from the floor." His father said, walking over and starting to wrap his hands then tossing two bandages to Itachi. He caught them easily and started to wind them around his wrists and between his fingers.

After he finished he stood slowly and readied himself. His father hadn't been fighting very hard with him, but still managed to keep himself at a level that was just past what Itachi could beat. They started off slower, just basic blocks and attacks, and slowly escalated into full on attacking. For some reason Itachi felt that having the break from training had made him a little better than before. Though it was hard to tell when his father pulled his punches.

His father started aiming for his healing shoulder. In response, Itachi angled that side away from his father and switched to a more defensive style.

"Don't depend on one side only. Any good fighter would know you're favoring one side."

"I can handle fighting like this." He dodged a punch aimed at the side of his head, "I have to." He took a step back, "all thanks to you." He scowled at his father.

"If you keep on guarding it like that your opponent will see the weakness and break your defense." He lunged and attacked again, "fight like you're not hurt."

Itachi yelled and tried and attack with his weak arm. It was hard, every time he threw a punch or used it to balance he felt like it would dislocate. He winced a few times which opened up his defense and he felt a painful reminder from his father.

After another half hour of this Itachi felt something in his stomach twist. As he was fighting he started to feel nauseated and the longer they went the worse it got. He blocked a punch aimed at his face then fell off balance and took a step forward. A knee came up and hit his stomach. He crumpled to the floor and started gasping for breath, fighting the urge to vomit. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, he needed a trashcan and fast. He could feel it coming. He quickly got up and sprinted for the corner of the room where there was a bucket left over from cleaning the basement. He gagged a few times then threw up into the bucket.

When he was finished he sat on the floor and leaned against the wall. His skin was pallid and he started shaking and sweating. He looked over at his father who was walking over to the corner. He sat down next to him and handed him water and a medicine bottle.

Itachi took them wordlessly and quickly swallowed two small white pills. A few minutes later he felt the nausea slip away. He took deep breath in started to stand up.

"Don't push yourself."

Itachi gave sideways glance at his father as he picked up the bucket. He wanted to respond, but he bit it back. His father didn't seem angry at the moment, and he was too tired to care. He was walking toward the basement door when it opened suddenly and Deidara walked in holding the phone.

"Boss, you're kid's school called and they want to talk to you or something." He tossed the phone at Fukaku then turned to leave. He walked past Itachi and looked into the bucket, then made a face. "Throwing up that much can't be good for you." He said, then went up the stairs.

Itachi was annoyed, Deidara was always around and almost always talking. It was like having to babysit an older version of Naruto with long hair and a bad attitude. He paused by the door until his father was off the phone.

"Sasuke got sent home early." He growled as he hit the end call button. He scowled then looked over at Itachi, "you can go, I think you've had enough for today."

Itachi nodded and headed up the stairs. Whatever trouble Sasuke was in this time it would be worse when he got home. He headed to the bathroom to clean the bucket when Madara stepped out of the guest room. Itachi tried to walk around him but Madara stopped him. "I need to get past." He said quietly, too tired to get nervous around his uncle.

Madara looked into the bucket and smirked, "weak stomach?" then he leaned over Itachi and laughed quietly, "I guess no one is perfect after all." Then he walked away down the hall.

Itachi felt a chill go down his spine as he stood in the hallway. He shivered then headed toward the bathroom, his great uncle just got more cryptic and more unnerving the longer he was living with them. He sighed and emptied the bucket into the toilet then started to rinse it out. His mind drifted back to Sasuke and what he could possibly have waiting in store for him. Don't get involved, he told himself. Though that would almost be impossible.

After he finished rinsing the bucket he left it in the bathroom and went to lie down. With all the training to regain the strength in his arm and getting used to taking medication, he was exhausted. He'd had no time to visit Minato since the surgery, and then when the training started up again he was too tired to do anything else but sleep. He closed his eyes. All the days were blending together, this hadn't been what he wanted or planned on. He'd had dreams of seeing other places and meeting new people. He winced as he remembered Orochimaru's face in the moonlight. The betrayal and the anger that had filled his voice, the spiteful glares he had given him the rest of the semester. Maybe it's a good thing I didn't get to meet too many new people, he thought.

He rolled onto his side and stared absently out the window next to his desk. Maybe if he had acted different he could have stayed in school longer. Maybe if he hadn't even gone to school Sasuke wouldn't be getting into trouble. Maybe if he had just been what his father wanted he wouldn't have tried to twist his arm off. He scowled, maybe if I hadn't been born I wouldn't be going through this. The vomiting every day, the nausea, the panic attacks, he hated them all.

The front door slammed shut. Itachi slowly sat up, now he'd have to hear Sasuke get yelled at. He'd have to hear the dreaded comparison and worst of all he'd have to hear his father's yelling. Just the sound of it made his stomach twist into knots. He got up and leaned against his bedroom door so he could hear what was going on down the hall, even though he knew it would hurt he felt like he had to listen so he could at least feel like he was supporting Sasuke without actually being there.

"Sasuke, why are you home from school so early?" his father's voice was loud.

"I have a note. Read it if you care." Sasuke said almost as loudly. There was silence after and Itachi assumed it was his father reading the note.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop fighting in school? I'm not training you so you can pick on kids your own age. I'm not training you to lose control of yourself and go on a rampage whenever you get pissed off." His father's voice was close to yelling.

"Then why am I being trained then? You're teaching me how to fight so I can fight with people!" there was a pause, "Oh wait, you're not actually training me! You called in someone else because you were too busy beating the shit out Itachi to care about what I'm learning!"

Itachi felt his blood freeze. Guilt started to fill him, Sasuke was right. If he hadn't been such a problem then Sasuke would get more attention and probably wouldn't be acting up so much in school.

"Having your great uncle come is a special privilege for you! You'll see that sooner or later, and you stay out of my business with Itachi! I know what I have to do to raise my son the right way! But you, you have no control! You may not look up to him, you may hate him, but he never got in trouble at school. He had good grades and knew better than to pick fights with his classmates who don't have the same skills!"

"All of a sudden he's your son now?" Sasuke was screaming at the top of his lungs, "You promised me that I would lead the family! You said you would train me! You said that I would get stronger! But all you've done is shove me to the side and put all your energy into making his life hell! Well I'm so glad you found something worthwhile to invest your time into!" There was loud stomping as Sasuke went down the hall to his room and slammed the door shut.

Itachi winced, then put his back to the door and slid down into a sitting position. His nausea was starting to come back. He felt numb. It was his fault. Of course it was. Everything was. He felt an odd sensation in his stomach and suddenly had the urge to run as far away as possible. The walls of his room started to close in and his breathing grew heavy. He needed to get out.

He managed to stand up shakily and grab a sweatshirt then quietly open his door. he walked quickly and silently down the hall and to the front door where he tried to put on his sneakers but ended up fumbling around with the shoe laces. He gave up on tying them then stood to leave when he felt someone standing behind him, "you're forgetting something." His father's voice hit the back of his skull.

Deidara groaned, "He looks like he wants to be alone, can't I just stay?"

"No."

There was a sigh then Deidara appeared at his side. As soon as he saw him Itachi pushed the door open and almost ran down the front steps. The fresh air hit his lungs and he started to calm down a little, he turned and walked down the street not caring if Deidara could keep up or not.

"Hey! Wait up!" Deidara shouted angrily from 100 feet back. Itachi paused and let him catch up, the panic was subsiding and he could bear to stand still for a few seconds.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden? You look kinda pale… you're not gonna throw up on me are you?"

Itachi didn't respond and kept walking. He hadn't planned on going anywhere in particular but he ended up in front of Minato's house. He hesitated by the fence, unsure of what to do with Deidara there. How would he explain it to Minato without making him uncomfortable? He sighed and started walking up to the front door.

"Hey! Do you even know these people?" Deidara jogged to catch up, "You can't just go up to random houses."

Itachi continued to ignore Deidra's endless stream of pointless talking and knocked on the door. They stood for a minute and heard some thumping and voices talking. Itachi felt a little bad not calling ahead and asking if it was ok to come over.

The door cracked open and Kushina peeked out, then she saw Itachi and her face broke into a smile, "Itachi! It's been so long!" she threw the door open and hugged him tightly, "please come in!"

Itachi stepped into the small house and all of his panic and anxiety melted away. He smelled food and felt the warmth inside and took a deep breath. Minato stepped out of the kitchen holding a towel, "Did you say Itachi was at the door?" then their eyes met and he smiled. Itachi!" then he noticed Deidara, "and you brought a friend, make yourself at home!"

"I should have called…" Itachi started.

"Nonsense! You are always welcome to stop by and you know that!" Kushina wouldn't let him finish. "Glad to see the sling is off now. And you seem a lot more put together. Back to one piece again?"

Itachi managed a half smile, "yeah… I guess you could say that." Then he noticed Deidara hadn't moved at all from the doorway. "This is Deidara, he's… a friend." He wasn't quite sure how to explain the situation. "He… helped me out with stuff when I was in recovery and is just hanging around until I'm back to my normal self."

Minato raised an eyebrow, "interesting… well, Nice to meet you Deidara. My name is Minato and this is my wife Kushina."

Deidara raised an eyebrow back, "hi." Then he looked at Itachi then back to Minato, "How exactly do you two know each other?"

"I found him unconscious on the side walk." Minato replied, then smiled. "Itachi also watches our son sometimes. Speaking of which…" there was a thump from down the hall.

"IIIIItaaaaaachiiiiiiii! You're finally baaaaaack!" Naruto sprinted into the room and leapt full force at Itachi who caught him easily.

"Hey Naruto." Itachi smiled. He felt a pang of sadness as he remembered Sasuke doing the same thing. Then he gave Naruto a curious look, "school shouldn't be out yet…"

Naruto bit his lip and looked away. He unconsciously put a hand over his nose, "I uh… it was a half day today."

"What happened to your nose, Naruto?" Itachi asked, though he had the feeling he knew what the answer was going to be.

"I walked into a shelf or something."

"It was Sasuke wasn't it?"

Naruto didn't answer right away. "It was an accident, he didn't mean to!"

Minato sighed, "Naruto, go back to your room. You got to say hello but you are still being punished."

Naruto nodded sadly, "see you later Itachi." He said then went back down the hall.

"I don't know why it's always those two. I'm so sorry about all this, Naruto told me he started it and he's going to have a strict talking to. This behavior is very unlike him."

"I'm sorry Sasuke hurt Naruto. He shouldn't have done that."

"It happens. Boys are full of energy at this age and they'll fight each other no matter what we try to do. As long as we keep them from learning how to kill each other everything should be fine." Minato smiled.

Deidara snorted, "Well it's already too late for that! Sasuke already…"

"Sasuke already knows he's in trouble." Itachi cut off Deidara. Minato didn't know what kind of life Sasuke or he had and it was best that he didn't know.

Minato looked like he wanted to ask something but stopped himself. He met Itachi's eyes then turned to Deidara, "I think Kushina may have some food in the kitchen if you are hungry, Deidara."

Deidara nodded then got up and followed Kushina out of the room. He was slightly annoyed by this, but he didn't really care if Itachi wanted privacy or not and he was hungry.

As soon as they were gone Minato's face changed to concern, "I don't mean to pry, but did you ever tell your father about…"

Itachi sighed, "Yeah." All of his thoughts from earlier were coming back and he could feel them starting to weigh down on his shoulders.

"You seem to be better physically, but… it looks like you have something on your mind."

Minato's questions were very direct and Itachi couldn't think of any way to get around them. "I… my house is a hard place to stay. My father is determined to help my shoulder recover and all I do is train and sleep." He paused, "sometimes… it feels like I don't exist anymore."

Minato was quiet. He knew there must be something more going on but he didn't want to be pushy. Itachi was very closed off and the fact that he was opening up this much was surprising. "You don't have anything else to do?"

"I'm usually just too tired to do anything else. My stomach has gotten worse and now even eating feels useless because all I do is throw it all up again. They gave me medication which helps some of it stay down but, I'm not sure how helpful it actually is."

"You look like you've lost some weight." Minato said quietly. "itachi, have you considered moving out? Maybe if you lived somewhere that isn't so…"

"I can't."

"You could consider it first."

"No, I just can't." Itachi didn't want Minato to start asking questions that might lead to talking about his eyes.

"Alright." Minato gave him a sad smile, "you are always welcome here. You can even spend the night when you want. It's no trouble." Itachi nodded in response. They were both quiet for a minute until their silence was disturbed by the sound of the phone ringing. Minato's eyes widened, then he picked up the phone and went to down the hall.

Itachi sighed. Minato had a point, though there really wasn't any way he could leave. He couldn't even begin to imagine what sort of "training injury" he would get for trying something like that. He could hear Minato's voice drifting out of the hallway, though it was a tone that he never imagined he'd hear Minato use.

"I know what day it is." There was a pause, "look, I just need a few more days." He sighed, "I know. I will." There was a long pause, then Minato came back into the room. "Sorry about that, just some business I need to take care of!" he smiled.

Itachi nodded, but something about how Minato was acting seemed off, his smile seemed fake. He pushed this thought to the side, there was too much happening in his head at the moment for him to try and think about anything else.

Minato sat back down on the sofa, "so, I hope this isn't getting too personal all of a sudden, but I know there can be some… emotional impacts to going through something like you did with your arm and then finding out that you have an illness. I just want to make sure that everything is ok?"

Itachi nodded again. He didn't feel like trying to explain to Minato what was going on at home or why everything just weighed down on him. He hope Minato wouldn't notice his lie. "I'm just tired. Like I said before, I don't do much except try and get my shoulder back together and throw up. It's only two things but I get tired really fast."

Before Minato could respond Deidara appeared in the doorway, "hey, your dad called me. He wants to talk to you." Then he tossed his phone to Itachi.

Itachi sighed and caught it, "yes?"

"Why didn't you bring your phone with you?" his father's voice sounded frustrated and angry.

"Forgot. Besides Deidara has his."

"We'll talk about that later. I just got word that a member of the Dragon Triad has been spotted over by the abandoned apartments, he's not alone. I need you and Deidara to check it out."

"Don't you have someone else who could do it?" Itachi didn't want to leave is safe haven.

"Sure I do. But I want you to do it. It's time you back into doing your job. Also," he paused, "stop by here first and pick up Sasuke. He wants to fight people so bad then he can experience what it's like to fight for his life."

His father's last remark made his blood freeze. He reached up and gently touched the scars on his face. "n-no. Don't make him go…"

"I don't have time to argue with you about this! More of the dragon triad could be gathering as we speak. I've prevented a mob war for a long time and I have no intention of letting one start now!" Itachi winced as his father raised his voice.

"Y-y-yes… sir." He said quietly then hung up the phone. He stood up and tossed the phone back to Deidara, "we have to go."

Minato nodded and stood up, "it was nice seeing you! Please, again, you can stop by at any time!"

Itachi walked to the door followed by Deidara, "I hope I'll have time to see you again soon." Then they left the small bright house and walked back down the street to go pick up Sasuke.

"You of all people was the last person I would have pegged on having some average family as friends." Deidara's voice broke the silence as they turned onto Itachi's street.

"Mind your own business." Itachi replied. Deidara's unwelcome comments made him angrier than he already was.

"Geez, touchy subject I see."

Itachi turned and faced Deidara, "If you tell my father about them…" his scowl deepened.

"Relax!" Deidara smirked, "I won't spill about your imaginary family. I don't really care. I just get paid to go where you go, that's all."

Itachi turned and walked up to his house. He hadn't fought anyone aside from his father in months. He didn't like the whole situation, this alleged gathering of the dragon triad seemed too sudden, and the location was too remote for anything to actually come of it, and Sasuke… Sasuke was too young to be doing something like this. He didn't have enough experience and he didn't have the strength to make any of his attacks affect a grown man.

"Sasuke! Hurry up!" he stood in the doorway and shouted. Sasuke appeared almost instantly with a devilish smile on his face.

"Ready." He said, then headed out the front door.

Itachi felt his stomach twist. This was wrong. Sasuke was too young and too eager to fight. He was going to get hurt. Itachi shivered, the look he'd seen in Sasuke's eyes was the worst part of this whole thing: the anticipation and excitement, the desire to hurt people without thinking of the consequences, and a total lack of regret or restraint.

.:.

It took half an hour to walk to the abandoned apartments. Itachi, Deidara, and Sasuke had traveled in silence, walking quickly toward the outskirts of the town. Itachi could feel himself getting anxious. He had never been in a fight with Sasuke there except for when Orochimaru had come to get his revenge. It worried him, if the Dragon Triad were gathering again then they would know who he and Sasuke were and try to manipulate him the same way Orochimaru had. He glanced sideways at Deidara. He was small but if he worked for his father then he must have some skill. He remembered Deidara mentioning that he was new. Itachi sighed quietly, he hated everything about this.

As they walked into the abandoned apartment complex Itachi sensed that something was off. "Wait, I don't like this…" he said softly.

"There's no one here. Why are you so worried?" Deidara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because we were told that people had been spotted here." He motioned around the empty parking lot, "no one is here. They are either hiding or someone was lying."

Sasuke wandered a few feet away, something had caught his eye. "What's this?" he asked.

Itachi and Deidara walked over and looked: an extension cord was hidden under some grass running along one of the empty buildings. "I guess someone is here…" Deidara muttered, then picked up the cord and pulled gently. The three followed it around the building until it disappeared down some concrete stairs and under a closed door.

Itachi squinted, then walked slowly down the stairs and tried the door handle. Not surprisingly it was locked. "Somebody is definitely living out here, but it could be anybody."

"Anybody? Oh Itachi, you wound me." There was an icy voice from behind him. Itachi whipped around and saw Orochimaru standing at the top of the stairs. Orochimaru's face was twisted into a sneer. "I really wasn't expecting a visit from you any time soon. It's good to see you again, old friend." He spat out the last word like it tasted sour. Orochimaru looked like he hadn't slept in ages: he had dark circles under his eyes and his cheeks looked hollow and his skin looked paler than ever.

"Orochimaru." Itachi growled. He set his jaw and his hands balled into fists. He could feel a burning inside of him as he remembered their last encounter. As fast as he could Itachi sprinted back up the stairs and lunged at Orochimaru who side stepped the attack easily.

"Simple attacks like that won't be enough to get me anymore, Itachi. You started teaching me how to defend myself, you should know that." Orochimaru laughed.

This isn't training. You need to focus. Itachi calmed himself down, Orochimaru was trying to play at his emotions like last time and make him angry. He took a deep breath and started to analyze his situation: Orochimaru was still smaller than him but it was hard to judge how strong he was since he was wearing a jacket. On the flip side to that, Orochimaru knew a lot about him and how he fought. He glanced around but he didn't see Kabuto anywhere. He didn't see Deidara or Sasuke either, that worried him.

Itachi saw a flash of movement to his right and saw Orochimaru coming at him. He quickly dodged and made a move to grab Orochimaru but it missed by a few inches.

"You seem slower than usual, not finding the motivation to train anymore?" Orochimaru's voice made him feel the burning anger again. He didn't respond, just dashed towards his old friend.

He landed a hit on the side of Orochimaru's face. He watched him stumble backwards a few steps holding his cheek. A wide grin slowly spread across his face as he looked up at Itachi from a few feet away, "is that what it feels like when your daddy hits you?" he spat blood and started to laugh. "I did always wonder."

Itachi's mind went blank. All thoughts and analysis faded away into white rage. He screamed then rushed forward at Orochimaru tackling him to the ground pinning him down with one knee under his ribcage and pressing his wrists into the ground. "Get out of Konoha." He growled through clenched teeth.

Orochimaru laughed weakly, struggling to breathe with Itachi's full weight pressing him into the ground, "Self-centered Itachi, I'm not here to watch your miserable life. You're not the Uchiha who I picked as my subject. I know you wish I did, but it's just so much better this way." he coughed and a spray of blood hit Itachi's face.

Itachi scowled and pressed harder. "Stay away from Sasuke."

"Or what?" Orochimaru smiled mockingly.

Itachi paused, what did he intend to do? Even if Orochimaru got away he didn't have any sort of plan. He stared into Orochimaru's snake eyes, "Or I'll kill you."

Orochimaru leaned as close to Itachi's face as he could, his sneer deepening as he inched closer and closer, "then kill me."

Itachi didn't move, he didn't want to kill him. But there was a part of him that did. It could all end right now, all I have to do is push harder. He scowled then pressed a little harder. As he did he remembered Orochimaru's smiling face when he had first introduced himself, the way he had tilted his head to the side, how he had barged into his dorm room looking for Karin. He hesitated.

There was a jarring pain as what felt like a ton of bricks hit him from the side and he skidded across the abandoned parking lot. Itachi looked up and saw Kabuto running at him. Itachi jumped up, relying on adrenaline to dull the pain. He readied himself for Kabuto. He dodged quickly then attacked.

Kabuto blocked Itachi's punches easily, he started to watch the movements closely. There was something off about how he was fighting like he was… Kabuto grinned. He hit Itachi's left shoulder right on the joint. Itachi shouted then grabbed his arm. "Previous injury? Not like you to have a weak spot." Kabuto said.

Itachi growled, "I don't have any weak spots." Then threw himself back into fighting. He noticed Kabuto aiming more and more for his left shoulder and it was getting harder to dodge all the hits aimed at it.

Kabuto laughed, he had missed fighting Itachi. He was a strong opponent. He felt a pang of guilt. He didn't hate Itachi the way Orochimaru did and he didn't want to hurt him. He shook his head and stopped letting his mind wander. He worked for Orochimaru, he had to put his personal feelings aside. He managed to grab the back of Itachi's sweatshirt and his left arm, twisting it behind his back.

Itachi yelled and fell forward. He would have fallen to his knees but Kabuto held on to the back of his sweatshirt letting his knees hang a few inches off the ground and cutting off some of his oxygen.

Orochimaru had managed to stand up and limp over "where is Sasuke?" he gasped between shallow breaths.

There was a loud yell as a figure body slammed Kabuto, making him drop Itachi on the ground where he gasped for air. Kabuto hadn't been expecting another attack and had been knocked off balance leaving him wide open.

Itachi looked over and saw Deidara attacking full force. He heard another shout and he saw a smaller figure leap at Orochimaru. No, Sasuke couldn't fight Orochimaru, not when he was the target. Itachi picked himself up and was about to run over to Sasuke when he heard and awful slicing sound. He whipped his head around and saw that Kabuto had pulled out a knife. He saw Deidara holding his side but still fighting. Kabuto raised his arm stabbed Deidara in through his upper arm, making it fall limp at his side. Deidara faltered a step and Kabuto took the advantage, knocking him onto his back.

Itachi sprinted over and managed to get between Kabuto and Deidara right before he struck a fatal blow. Sasuke would have to wait.

Orochimaru smiled as he dodged Sasuke's attacks. This child was strong and talented. But he could be stronger. "You land even less attacks on me than your brother, Sasuke." He smirked.

"I'm better than he is! I'll take you down!" Sasuke yelled.

"Are you though? It looks to me like you just don't have the same strength." Orochimaru laughed. He watched Sasuke's face go from serious to full of rage, "of course, I can always help you with that. I left you a gift from last time. I can teach you how to use it."

Sasuke yelled and kept attacking furiously, landing a few weak hits on Orochimaru, "My uncle can show me how to be strong! I can teach myself! I don't need any of you people!"

"Fiercely independent, just like Itachi was. Silly child, those people don't need you either. Your daddy has Itachi tied down almost completely, I can see it. He stole the title of head of the family from Itachi, what makes you think he won't do the same to you?" Orochimaru saw Sasuke hesitate and he grabbed the front of his shirt, "but I need you. Together you and I can become powerful, more powerful than Itachi could ever dream to be." He smirked, "even now Itachi chose to protect someone he barely knows over his own flesh and blood. What a loving older brother you have Sasuke." Then he let go of Sasuke's shirt and stepped back.

Sasuke looked at the ground, Orochimaru was right. He had no assurance that he would ever be head of the family. At this point Itachi didn't even care about him anymore. His frown deepened and his face clouded over.

"You will need me soon Sasuke. I'll always be close by. When you're ready, we will make you strong." Then Orochimaru started to walk away and disappeared between the empty buildings.

Kabuto saw Orochimaru leaving the abandoned parking lot. He landed one more blow to Itachi's jaw, then dropped him to the ground. They would have to fight again one day. He jogged over and let Orochimaru grab his shoulder.

"That was an unexpected visit. We will have to change locations." He managed to croak out. He looked down at the ground. There was a tug at the back of his mind, why was he going through all of this? They had been friends after all. He scowled. It was because they had been friends that he had to go through with it. Itachi had lied to him, attacked him, and now threatened to kill him. He would have his revenge and it would be oh so sweet. "I'm glad they found us actually, Sasuke needed the encouragement." He laughed, then they disappeared into the darkness of an abandoned building.

Itachi stared down at Deidara, his eyes were closed and he looked pale. He was doing his best to stop the bleeding. He wished he had a car or remembered his cell phone. He dug around in Deidara's jacket pocket and pulled out a phone. He quickly dialed his home number and waited for someone to pick up.

Sasuke walked over and gave Itachi a wary look. What he'd heard had made sense. He'd seen it, how Itachi and his dad were always training together, how they had stopped yelling at each other. He was an afterthought now, the one stuck with uncle Madara.

Itachi talked into the phone then hung up and started to tear his sweatshirt into strips to stop the bleeding in Deidara's side. Deidara had been ready to die for him and had saved his life. He refused to let Deidara die now. "Sasuke, do you have anything I can use to stop the bleeding?" he asked.

Sasuke dropped his sweatshirt on the ground, "I'm walking home." Then he turned and left.

"Wait! It's not safe!" Itachi yelled.

"Since when do you care?" Sasuke yelled back, then headed for the entrance.

Itachi closed his eyes. That had hurt. His mind wandered back to Orochimaru, he knew every way to hurt him without even landing a hit. He was smart and played people. He suspected that Orochimaru was doing the very same thing with Sasuke.

Now that his body was starting to relax, he could feel everything start to ache. His shoulder was sore but at least it hadn't gotten any more damage. His jaw had a bruise forming on it and he was covered in scrapes from sliding across the pavement. There were holes in the knees of his jeans and what was left of his sweatshirt.

A breeze blew through the silent parking lot. He shivered as he held the soggy makeshift bandages. Someone must have seen Kabuto and not realized that he wasn't part of the dragon triad anymore. The activity in the area had to have been him and Orochimaru doing whatever they had planned. He'd have to tell his father what happened in some form or another. He would have to try and leave out that Sasuke was targeted and maybe who it was. There was a lot to think about before he got home.

.:.

Orochimaru watched Itachi stay next to Deidara's limp body. He had stuck around to see how things would play out of course, but he hadn't expected this. He could feel jealousy growing in the pit of his stomach. Would Itachi have done that for him? If they hadn't been connected by fate, would he watch out for him like an older brother?

His mind went back to the night he had found out. He remembered having a hallucination and passing out then waking up in bed with Itachi sitting up next to him. He still remembered their last moment of friendship: he had started to talk about his parents which he had never done before. He had opened up to someone and found out that they had been part of his parent's deaths. He remember the tingling sensation of hope and comfort being ripped away as realization had struck him. He remember how he had attacked but Itachi hadn't defended himself.

He groaned. He was starting to get a migraine thinking about it. Tears oozed out of his eyes as he grabbed the sides of his head and crumpled to the ground. He had to do this, for his parent's sake and for his own sake. He knew he had to do it, but why did it hurt so much? Why did it plague every nightmare and every waking moment?

Kabuto reached down and picked up Orochimaru's body. This had happened before, he just had to keep going. Orochimaru would relax eventually. He started walking to their second hideout. They had found a cave deep in the forest outside of Konoha that they had turned into a lab. That would have to become their primary living place now.

.:.

Itachi leaned against the wall facing the sofa. He looked across the room, watching Deidara breathe slowly. He had been unconscious for a few hours even after the knife wounds had been stitched up and he'd been given a pint of blood. For some reason Itachi felt responsible that he'd failed to protect him. Maybe I just feel guilty about helping him instead of Sasuke, he thought. He hadn't seen Sasuke since he'd gotten home but he'd heard some noise coming from the basement.

His father hadn't been home when he'd gotten back. He'd called and his mom had picked up the phone. At least she had sent the family doctor over to get them and he'd taken care of Deidara's injuries.

The whole ordeal had been a welcome distraction from his thoughts, but they were starting to slip back into his mind. Sasuke still blamed him for everything and refused to talk to him, which was expected. Seeing Orochimaru again reminded him of what he needed to protect Sasuke from, a maniac obsessed with living forever. He winced at the memory of Orochimaru's words. It was odd how Orochimaru seemed to know about him and his father almost like he'd been watching the whole time. I guess he never left Konoha after last time, he thought. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes, his scrapes hurt. The stinging was keeping him from thinking too hard and he was glad about that.

There was a low groan from the sofa which made Itachi snap back to reality. Deidara's eyes fluttered open and he moved to sit up. "Take it slow. You don't want to pop any stitches." Itachi said, walking across the room and sitting down in a chair next to the sofa.

Deidara slowly sat up, "I don't remember what happened…the last thing I know is Sasuke and I went around to check the front of the building, then we heard you yelling and when we got back there were those two guys…"

"Yeah, one of them had a knife. He got you pretty good." Itachi said quietly.

"I feel like I was hit by a truck."

"You've been unconscious for a few hours. Give it a week, you'll be back to normal." Itachi paused, "Thanks… I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there. I guess… I guess my father wasn't wrong about having you stick around."

"It's what I get paid to do." Deidara replied then looked away, "Thanks for not letting me die, I guess." There was a long pause then Deidara turned back to Itachi, "hey, the boss didn't see me like this did he?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow, "no, he's not back from the office yet."

"Good. Can't having him think I can't do my job." He looked Itachi up and down, "geez man, don't you ever use band aids? Your cuts could get infected if you just leave them open like that."

Itachi didn't say anything. He didn't really like band aids, today in particular it felt good not to have them on and the stinging was calming. "Sometimes. Just not today." He didn't feel like explaining himself to Deidara.

"Your choice." He paused, "who were those guys anyways? I could be wrong but it looked like they knew you."

"I met them at school."

"So why do they want to kill you?"

Itachi hesitated, trying to explain anything to Deidara would take a long time and he didn't want Deidara to tell his father about it, "They don't. I'm not sure what they want. My guess is they'll stay away for a while though."

Deidara didn't answer. He stared into space for a while but his face betrayed that he was lost in thought. He turned back to Itachi, "I think I'm gonna sleep a while. That way when the boss comes back I'll be more myself." Itachi nodded and stood up, he turned out the light next to the sofa and went back to his room.

It wasn't long before there was a knock at his door. Itachi looked up from a thick novel and saw the door open slowly. His father stood in the doorway, "I want to see you in my office." He said, then turned and went down the hallway.

Itachi frowned, this was new. He had never been asked to the office before. He scowled, his father hadn't seemed angry but there was always something he could find to blame him for. Itachi sighed, put his book down, and got up, mentally preparing for whatever would happen next.

When he got to the office, his father motioned for him to sit down. He sat facing his father's desk and met his father's eyes. "What did you want to see me about?"

"I had some people look into the rumors about the dragon triad sighting while you were out and no one had heard anything. Given the state you are in, and Deidara for that matter, I can only come to the conclusion that you either were fighting with each other or something else. I need you to tell me which one."

Itachi hesitated, there was something inside of him that didn't want to tell his father about Orochimaru or Kabuto and the whole situation with Sasuke. "Just an ex triad member hanging around."

"You expect me to believe that one person was able to beat you, Deidara, and Sasuke?"

"He was pretty strong." Itachi kept a straight face.

Fukaku closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, "Itachi. I know you're lying. There is no way that happened. Tell me the truth now." His voice was hitting a dangerous octave.

Itachi scowled, "You're not going to believe anything I tell you. Why don't you just ask Deidara or Sasuke instead? Someone you trust."

"Wouldn't it be nice if I could trust my own son to be honest?" Fukaku asked starting to scowl himself.

"Wouldn't it be nice if my father would be honest, instead of playing mind games with his own children and pitting them against each other?" Itachi squeezed the arm rests on his chair so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"I know what I'm doing! Tell me the truth about what happened! And not just this time, but back in December, too. You think I don't remember that you never said what happened to Sasuke that day?! It's like you're trying to protect whoever hurt him!"

The last part hit Itachi like a wall. He just stared back at his father's angry face in shock. Am I protecting Orochimaru? Am I hurting Sasuke by not letting other people get involved? He stood up, "It was just and ex triad member. That's all." He stood up and walked towards the door.

"Dammit Itachi!" there was a loud thump as his father slammed a fist on his desk. Itachi flinched and froze. "If people are targeting Sasuke they are targeting the future of this family!" he walked around the desk and grabbed Itachi's shoulder shoving him into the door. "I'm not going to let you rip apart this family just because you can't come to terms with reality." Fukaku whispered through clenched teeth.

Itachi just stared up at his father; he didn't know what to say. He twisted out of his father's grip on his shoulder. "There's other people in this world besides our family." He whispered. "And if you think I would ever let anyone hurt Sasuke…" he never got to finish. The door opened behind them and Madara walked in to the room.

Itachi and Fukaku just stood and looked at him. "Oh, don't mind me. Continue your little argument, I won't disturb you." Madara smirked.

Itachi turned and walked out of the room. He felt ready to explode. His father was smart, he had known something was wrong since the first run in with Orochimaru. His scowl deepened, his father had probably been holding on to that knowledge this whole time to use it at the perfect moment. Itachi went back to his room and slammed the door behind him.

Fukaku turned to face Madara, "What do you want? I'm a little busy at the moment."

"Of course you are, Fukaku. But it looks like your schedule just opened up a bit..." Madara smirked. "I'm here to talk to you about your son."

"How is Sasuke's training going?" Fukaku asked, walking back to his desk and sitting down.

"Not that one."

"What do you want to know about Itachi?" Fukaku pulled out a folder and started to flip through some papers.

"He has always been… problematic hasn't he?"

"Get to the point."

"You are far too easy on him. If he's causing problems and lying then there should be consequences." He laughed, "I could train him for a week or so, that ought to clear up his… insolent behavior."

Fukaku scowled and looked up from his papers at Madara, "no. you're here to train Sasuke only." He paused, "I'm not too easy on my son. There are circumstances that you are not aware of…"

"That's he's dying?" Madara asked, smirking a little bit as he said it. "You seem to forget that I sleep in the room next to your office, Fukaku. I know a lot of things. You can't just let this refusal of cooperation slide now just because he's sick. I didn't train you to be like that."

"And that's why you don't run this family, Madara." Fukaku stood and leaned across the desk, "Now get out of my office before I throw you out."

Madara stood to leave, "alright, but don't blame me if it all comes back in your face one day. Some problems just need to be stomped out before they get out of control." Then he left the office, slamming the door behind him.

Fukaku sat back down. Maybe he was being too easy on Itachi now. He felt old all of a sudden, he used to be strict and unmoving. Not that it had mattered of course. Itachi had just pushed back. He'd had no problem with giving consequences before. It used to be simple matter of punishment, but now it was complicated. Now he could feel a tug in the back of his mind, Itachi didn't have much time left and was already in enough pain dealing with an illness that would cut his life short. Did he really have to the right to continue inflicting more pain?

Physical injuries had always been simple to him: you got hurt and you fixed it. Some injuries took longer to heal than others. But illness just made Itachi look fragile. Maybe I do feel guilty, he thought. But if his son was cracked he wasn't going to be the one who shattered him into a million pieces.


	9. Chapter 9

There were soft footsteps in the hallway as Fukaku heard Itachi go to wake up Sasuke to get ready for school. The mornings were starting to get warmer as spring rapidly approached and the early morning light was starting to find its way into his room earlier every day.

Fukaku looked over and saw Mikoto still fast asleep. At least she was to be able to get rest; he hadn't slept all night. There was a thought gnawing at the back of his mind and he couldn't ignore it. Madara's interest in Itachi was troubling. He was too curious and too eager to see how strong his oldest son was.

He rolled over onto his side, Madara had put him through grueling training when he was about Sasuke's age. Most of it had been a way for Madara to get out his anger about not being chosen to be head of the family over his younger brother. His brother had decided that he could make amends by letting Madara become the one who trained the next head of the family: Fukaku.

This had made Madara angrier than before and it made him become a ruthless mentor. But his father had told Fukaku that this was the best way to learn. To be strong he had to be tested with fire and to master his genetic birthright he needed to master his emotions and learn precise control over both his mind and body.

Fukaku sighed, he'd tried his best to instill this into his sons. It had started out well, Itachi had jumped into learning martial arts with enthusiasm and had shown mastery even at his young age. The problems had started when he was thirteen. Itachi had stopped mid-fight and looked up into his eyes and asked "Why?" and as much as Fukaku had tried to explain, Itachi just looked more and more unconvinced.

Itachi had always confused him, he was intelligent and athletic and had so much potential, but he'd had no drive. He took more after his mom: tall, thin, quiet, and very smart. She had given him lots of books to read in his spare time and from them he would get ideas and ask questions about the morality of what the family did and when Fukaku didn't have an answer Itachi would nod then walk away.

By the time he was fifteen, Itachi had started to openly disobey him and go against what the family stood for. He would argue and refuse to train which caused him to have the episodes with his eyes. Fukaku had to fight back to maintain some semblance of control over the situation, but what little relationship he'd started to build with his son was long gone. Sasuke had been different. He was very similar to Fukaku and even though Itachi had tried to keep Sasuke from being part of the family, Fukaku had connected with his youngest son.

The front door slammed as Itachi left to take Sasuke to school. Fukaku slowly got up, if he was going to be awake he may as well go to his office downtown. He quickly showered then got dressed. As he made himself breakfast, his mind drifted to thinking about Itachi's illness. Injuries could be healed with time and used to make a person stronger, but an illness just made you weaker over time. Itachi's strength was fading and there was nothing he could do about it.

The front door opened and Fukaku heard Itachi kick off his shoes. The kitchen door opened and their eyes met briefly. Fukaku saw a darkness come over Itachi's face.

Fukaku didn't address him, just turned around and went back to making breakfast. He would never forgive Itachi for rejecting the family. He had grown up hearing that the family came first and that everything should be done with that in mind. He had tried to pass this down to Itachi, but his son had thrown it to the side and replaced it with the hollow ideas of dead people. Fukaku took a deep breath, he considered this to be his biggest failure as the head of the family and having to see Itachi was a constant reminder of it. He finished making his breakfast then turned to leave, he could eat anywhere else.

"Wait." There was a quiet voice behind him. He turned around and faced Itachi who stood staring at the ground. He was squeezing the handle of the knife he had used to put butter on his toast so tightly his knuckles were turning white.

"What is it?" Fukaku asked.

"Last night… I wasn't lying." Itachi looked up into his father's eyes from across the room, "There was an ex triad member. His name is Kabuto Yakushi."

Fukaku nodded, "the son of the triad leader." Itachi turned around and pulled the teabag out of his mug. "I heard he was a highly skilled fighter, but it seems unlikely that he would be able to take on three people at once, even when one of them is recovering from an injury." Fukaku saw Itachi tense then relax.

Itachi turned back around, his face was serious, "There was one more." He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, "The other one was a man named Orochimaru. He…" he hesitated, "He was my roommate at school."

Fukaku nodded again, "Thank you for telling me."

Itachi scowled, "I'm not telling you because you asked. I'm telling you because Sasuke is being targeted. They were the ones who attacked in December. I think it's obvious that I can't fight them on my own because…"

"They know you too well." Fukaku scowled, "This is why going to school away from home and allowing other people to know about your life is dangerous." He turned to leave again.

"But cowering in a house doing nothing but build up defenses for a fight that may never come isn't living!" itachi raised his voice.

A door slammed down the hall and the kitchen door opened and Madara walked in, "It's impossible to sleep with you two yelling at each other. Going through life half-awake because of sleep deprivation isn't living either." He calmly stated, then began to make himself coffee.

Fukaku's scowl deepened, first Itachi now he had to put up with Madara as well, "and your opinion doesn't matter, Madara. So don't stick your nose into my business." He managed to growl through clenched teeth.

Madara turned around, his face was a mixture of both amusement and annoyance, "Say that a little louder, I don't think I heard you." He walked over and looked down his nose at Fukaku, "unless you'd like to re-think what you just said."

Fukaku glared up at Madara, "get out."

Itachi watch the incident unfold, there was always a subtle friction between his uncle and his father. Some underlying battle that was never addressed, it was the only time he'd ever seen his father look weaker than someone else.

Madara snorted, "My coffee is done; I don't have a reason to stay." He grabbed his mug off the counter and headed out the kitchen door. He stopped and stared into Fukaku's eyes, "Don't you ever address me like that again." There was a pause as the two men held eye contact. A small smile twisted Madara's face, then he turned and left the room.

As soon as he left Fukaku felt anger rising quickly out of his chest. His scowl deepened, he could feel a throbbing in his head, he felt his plate slip out of his hand and there was a distant clatter. He felt his muscles tense and his hand curl into a fist. He heard a growl start and quickly turn into a yell. He made a swift move and there was a sharp pain in his hand.

Itachi flinched and the knife fell out of his hand falling to the floor just centimeters from his foot. He took a step back and bumped into the counter. He wanted to get out of the room. He watched as his father pulled his hand out a hole in the wall. He shouted a few curse words and slammed his other hand on the table. Itachi edged into the corner, slowly sliding towards the door.

Fukaku took in deep breaths trying to calm himself down. The pain in his hand was starting to throb. Slowly he gathered himself back together and noticed his plate smashed on the floor. He took another deep breath and moved to get the broom. When he turned around he saw Itachi stepping carefully around the glass toward the door. He scowled, of course Madara had to challenge him in front of Itachi. "Get out." He whispered.

Itachi scowled back then left the room. He could feel his pulse slow down to a normal pace again. He wasn't sure about what he'd just seen, it was something that looked foreign yet somehow felt familiar. As he walked down the hallway he bumped into his mom.

"Itachi, is everything alright? I heard something break?" she stared up into his eyes, concern knitting her brow.

Itachi was caught off guard and he just stared back with a vacant expression, "y-yeah."

"Your father? Is he ok?"

Itachi didn't answer but just walked down the hall. There were a million thoughts bouncing around in his head. He needed to sit and think, to sort out what he just saw. He went back to his own room and sat down at his desk. He sighed and turned on his computer, as he waited for the screen to load he shuddered. If I had been standing closer… he didn't want to finish the thought.

He shook his head and opened his e-mail. It was mostly spam but there was one message from Hidan. He almost didn't open it. There was an all too familiar urge to read the message and feel the nostalgia, even if it made him long for a different life and think back to a better time. He was about to delete it when he noticed the subject: "Anko acting weird?" Intrigued, he opened it,

Itachi, Anko mentioned she was going to visit her uncle a few weeks ago. While she was there she texted me that she saw you! That's pretty crazy. But, then she came back late, she was only supposed to be gone for the weekend but she didn't come back until Thursday night and she looked terrible. Since then she's been really quiet and sleeps a lot and she hasn't eaten much. I'm really worried about her. Did anything happen when you saw her?

Hidan

Itachi raised an eyebrow; he couldn't remember anything out of the ordinary happening when Anko was here, she had been her normal self when they talked: cheerful, fun, energetic. He wrote a quick response to Hidan, then closed his computer. It was only the morning but he felt like he'd been awake for hours, there was a weight on his shoulders dragging him down. He felt trapped and frozen in time. Nothing ever changed, nothing ever moved forward.

Orochimaru's words stung more than cuts or injuries ever could. They echoed around inside his skull, repeating over and over again everything he didn't want to hear. The scenes from the day before constantly replayed through his mind. He hated Orochimaru for what he was doing and planning, but at the same time all he could remember was who Orochimaru had been when they had met. And now he'd just given his father his friend's name and told him he was targeting Sasuke. He'd betrayed Orochimaru; he was becoming exactly what Orochimaru wanted: beaten, weak, and easily manipulated.

He looked out the window at the cloudy March sky. The wind howled through the backyard and tiny raindrops smacked into the windowpanes. I need to leave, he thought then stood up. He pulled on a thick winter coat over his sweatshirt then left his room closing the door quietly behind him.

Deidara was just pulling a jacket over his bandaged arm when Itachi walked into the living room. Their eyes met. It was strange, there seemed to be an unspoken agreement that they didn't find each other annoying anymore. Having your life threatened will do that to you I suppose, Itachi thought then started to put shoes on.

Deidara walked over and started to pull on his sneakers, "heading out?" he asked quietly.

Itachi nodded, he didn't want to attract any attention. He didn't know where his father was but he also didn't want him asking where he was going or remind him about being home by a certain time. He just didn't want to be in the same area as him; even separate rooms was too close.

They slipped out of the house silently and walked towards the end of the street, the wind making the small abrasions on Itachi's face start to sting all over again. They walked slowly so Deidara wouldn't have to push himself too hard, but neither of them said anything. This surprised Itachi, he'd expected that even though Deidara had gotten hurt that he would be at least a little excited about being in an actual fight. It just seemed to fit his personality. "You're awful quiet for once." he said, not exactly sure why he said it out loud.

"So are you." Deidara's face was serious.

"I'm always quiet." Itachi saw a smile tug at the corner of Deidara's mouth, but it faded quickly.

"Why?" the question came out of nowhere.

Itachi paused, then considered for a moment, "because I like to think."

Deidara nodded, he'd expected an answer like that: vague and not really helpful. "You know exactly why those guys attacked yesterday don't you?"

"Yeah."

Deidara stopped in the middle of the street, "then tell me why. I could have died yesterday and granted that's part of my job, but those guys… they weren't just out to hurt people. You think I didn't notice that the big guy pulled out the knife when I attacked him and not you? You think I didn't notice you hesitate when you had the smaller one pinned to the ground? You could have at least knocked him out but you didn't. And if you expect me to believe they were just 'some guys you met at school' then you must think I'm an idiot." He paused, "If I'm in the middle of some personal battle between you and those other guys, I wanna know why it's worth it for me to get involved if I could die."

Itachi looked at the ground, in truth he hadn't even thought about why Kabuto had pulled the knife on Deidara. But it did make him curious now. The only answer he could think of was that Orochimaru wanted him alive, so he could watch Sasuke slip away, so he could know what it felt like to have what you hold so close be ripped away from you. "I… you were never supposed to get involved… I'm sorry… I didn't know it would be them…" He met Deidara's eyes, "I don't want you to get more wrapped up in this than you already are, but I know for a fact that they want to hurt me, not kill me. Because pain is suffering but death would be release. My family made them suffer and they want revenge. I didn't know the extent they would go to… but now I know they are ready to kill for what they want and I… I'm not. I'm sorry you got dragged into this, I'm sorry you got stuck with the job of protecting me, I'm sorry my…"he swallowed, "my father is making you do this…"

Deidara put up a hand to stop him. "Bro, no one is making me do this. I chose this job, I'm gonna see it through. Next time we see them I'll be ready." Deidara smiled then put his hand on Itachi's shoulder, "I'm here to make sure you don't have to deal with these people on your own, and I don't plan on leaving."

Itachi nodded, he felt a small weight lift off his shoulders. Even if it was only Deidara, even if it was only someone he barely knew, even if it was only for a little while, he didn't have to be in his house and feel alone.

They continued walking through the neighborhood and wound up at a familiar white picket fence around a small house with a beat up old car in the driveway. They opened the gate and walked slowly up the path towards the front door. Itachi rang the doorbell and waited, he wasn't sure why he'd come here, he didn't even know if anyone would be home, but at the moment he felt like he needed to be here.

The door opened slowly and Itachi saw Minato look through the crack, then he saw Minato smile and open the door all the way, he could have been wrong but he thought Minato looked a little relieved.

"Itachi, hello! Please come in, I was actually hoping you'd stop by today…" Minato's voice trailed off as he noticed the abrasions and cut on Itachi's face and arms as he took off his coat. He glanced over at Deidara and saw similar injuries and his bandaged arm.

"Sorry to just drop in on you like this…" Itachi started, but he could already feel himself relaxing.

"Itachi, please stop apologizing. I told you that you could come over whenever and I meant it. I usually work from home and Kushina is only part time where she works so there is almost always someone here." Minato smiled and led them into the living room.

"I know… but I don't like intruding…"

Minato laughed, "It's never an intrusion! Though," he hesitated, "I feel like I should at least offer, we have band aids…"

"Nah, Itachi doesn't believe in band aids." Deidara cut in smirking a little as he said it.

"Regardless of whether you believe in band aids or not, infections are serious." Minato said, then stood and went down the hall to the bathroom and came back with a box of band aids and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. He sat down on the sofa next to Itachi and started to clean the cuts and put band aids on them.

Itachi sat quietly and let him work, it felt different not taking care of his own scrapes. He felt like a kid again.

"I guess you don't have to tell me, but I am curious, does this have anything to do with why you two had to leave so suddenly yesterday?" Minato asked, starting to clean off one of the abrasions on Itachi's face.

Itachi winced a little at the sudden stinging, "yeah."

"Are you picking fights?"

"No," Itachi hesitated, "I just… bumped into some old friends."

Minato finished with Itachi then turned to start working on Deidara, "do these friends of yours normally attack people with knives?"

"That was a first actually." Itachi answered quietly, his conversation with Deidara still fresh in his mind. He suddenly felt that he could be endangering Minato just by being with him. If Kabuto had tried to kill Deidara, then he would try to kill Minato too if he got in the way.

"Hey, how'd you know it was a knife?" Deidara asked, squinting slightly and trying to pull away from the cotton ball soaked in alcohol.

Minato gripped Deidara's arm tighter and started to clean out a scrape on his forearm, "I'm not a stranger to violence. I grew up in the city, there were gang fights in my neighborhood all the time." He put a band aid on the scrape and let Deidara's arm go, "I had hoped moving into the suburbs would be safer for Naruto, but I guess not."

Itachi felt the guilt rising, it was his fault. His family made this place unsafe. "It wasn't gang violence… I'm sure Naruto is much safer here than he would have been in the city."

"I do wonder sometimes." Minato said quietly. He stood up, "Well, I actually have to go run some errands for Kushina. You boys are free to stay here if you'd like or you can come along."

Deidara kicked off his shoes, "I think I might just take a nap," he motioned towards Itachi, "His sofa isn't the most comfortable of places to spend the night."

Minato laughed, "Sure. If you get hungry there is food in the fridge." He turned to look at Itachi and raised an eye brow questioningly.

"I think I'll head out with you." Itachi smiled a little, he needed the company and the escape.

Minato nodded then grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. Itachi followed him out and to the small car. They both got in and Minato started to back up down the driveway. "It's nice that you can get into the car yourself this time instead of Kushina and me trying to shove you in the back seat unconscious." Minato laughed.

Itachi smiled, "it is a bit easier."

.:.

Fukaku paced around his office. He was tired and angry, but the new information Itachi had given him was definitely something he needed to consider right away. "So there is someone coming after my family." He said out loud. He'd guessed it might happen one day, but not so soon. Maybe when he was older and more frail, possibly when Sasuke was about to take over. But this was too soon. He closed his eyes and tried to work it out, It had been one of Itachi's roommates, this roommate also had a friend who was an ex Dragon Triad member.

He opened his eyes and let out a low growl. The only way someone could have found Sasuke, and attacked twice was if they had prior knowledge. There was no way it was coincidence. The only thing linking these two strangers to Sasuke was Itachi. His oldest had been too casual, too open, and too trusting. That problem had to be fixed.

"But he's dying." He whispered. Not that being sick now excused what he had done in the past; actions had consequences and he would have to learn. Fukaku walked over to his desk and picked up a stack of papers, the latest account information. It would be collection time soon, did he really want to give that job to Itachi if he was going to be untrustworthy. He flicked through some sheets; there were some people in the red this month, and that meant action would have to be taken. Itachi didn't have the strength emotionally or physically to take care of that.

The door to his office opened, "I'm busy right now." Fukaku said, not even looking up.

"You can make time."

Fukaku looked up and scowled, hearing Madara's sarcastic tone. He couldn't even get away from Madara when he wasn't at home apparently. "What do you want." He demanded.

"Oh Fukaku," Madara pretended to look hurt, "You didn't remember that today is the day I give you updates on Sasuke's training?"

Fukaku set his jaw, "get on with it then."

A smirk spread across Madara's face, "he's progressing fine. Learning more every day and all that."

Fukaku nodded, that's what he expected to hear. "Good."

"There is a problem."

Fukaku raised an eyebrow, still annoyed that Madara was interrupting his work.

"He has yet to lay a finger on me." Madara sighed, "so much promise, but he's just too young at the moment. It's almost a waste of time for me."

Fukaku felt anger building up inside again, "Do your job Madara, and get the hell out of my office so I can do mine." His voice was dangerously quiet.

"That's not very polite, but I suppose I have better things to do." Madara turned around and started walking towards the door. "You know, I could train Itachi, he'd be much more receptive and pick up the techniques faster. He's quite brilliant."

"I am training Itachi. You are training Sasuke." Fukaku was on the verge of throwing something at Madara.

Madara turned around an evil-looking grin was on his face, "I have a proposition for you, Fukaku. What if we had a joint training session? You seem to be unsure about Itachi's skill and his… drive. What if we tested that?"

Fukaku raised an eyebrow, this was the first thing Madara had said that was worth listening to, "What do you propose?"

"We have Sasuke and Itachi fight each other."

Fukaku made a face, "What will that prove?"

"Itachi has shown that he can't remove himself from fighting emotionally. This is a hindrance. If he had been able to do this yesterday then we… you might have more answers about why the whole affair happened in the first place. You know that Sasuke means a lot to him, even if they don't get along anymore, we have them fight until one has the other incapacitated or concedes."

Fukaku sat at his desk and considered it for a few minutes; the whole idea sounded crazy, but it would prove a lot and help him figure out where he needed to train Itachi in more. "Alright. I'll allow it." He stood up and walked over to Madara and locked gazes with him, "but I will call it if things get out of hand. Itachi is still recovering from an injury."

"That seems fair." Madara smiled, "tomorrow night then?"

Fukaku nodded, "tomorrow night."

"One more thing, they can't know until it is time to begin."

"Agreed."

"I look forward to it." Madara said, then left the office.

Fukaku walked back and sat at his desk, it was odd how Madara worked. He always seemed to know exactly what was going on and what he was thinking. Not that his doubts about Itachi were a secret, but Madara picked up on them very easily. He shook his head and went back to flipping through papers, the next evening would be very helpful.

.:.

"Just one more place before heading back" Minato said opening the grocery store door for Itachi who was carrying 6 bags of groceries. They stopped by the car and put the bags in the trunk. "The last place is relatively close so we can walk there, and I don't need much so we won't have to carry much back."

"Ok." Itachi nodded, then jogged a little to catch up with Minato. They walked in silence for a while. The rain had stopped and the sun was starting to peek its way through the clouds.

"I was meaning to ask earlier, but how are things? I know you mentioned stuff was hard yesterday, but you somehow look… different today." Minato asked, he wasn't sure if he was prying too much, but with Itachi he knew there was a lot that he wasn't saying.

Itachi didn't respond right away, "A lot has happened since yesterday. Well, not a lot… but it felt like a lot."

"Seeing your old friends didn't go so well?"

"I guess I can't really say they are my friends anymore. But that and other stuff."

Minato sighed, he wanted to help but Itachi just kept being vague. Here was this kid who he'd bumped into by accident and fate had brought them together repeatedly. A kid who always looked like he was on the brink of drifting away with no hope in his future. But whenever he tried to do something, Itachi just kept blocking him out. "Itachi, I… you know you can tell me anything, right? I won't tell anyone about your life, not even Kushina if you don't want me to, but if you keep bottling things up inside you are only going to end up hurting yourself more. I care about your health and I don't want to see anything happen to you."

Itachi stopped walking and just froze. He could feel his limbs tingling and his mind went blank. Minato stopped and turned to look at him. "I-I can't…" was all he managed to get out.

Minato nodded then smiled. "I just thought I'd let you know."

Itachi looked away nodded slightly, then started walking again. It wasn't that he didn't want to, being able to tell someone everything would help, but if he did Minato and Kushina and Naruto could all be put in danger for knowing about his family. Then they would ask questions and they could be targeted.

Minato stopped in front of a shop and entered with Itachi following behind. As soon as they entered Itachi had a sinking feeling in his stomach: it was the tea shop. He would be recognized and the owner might give him away. He tried to stay behind Minato and look away as much as possible.

"Itachi?" a familiar voice came from behind him and he jumped. "I didn't know you were out, if I had your mother could have asked you to come here."

Itachi turned around slowly, he set his jaw and swallowed. Before he could respond he saw Minato turn around out of the corner of his eye.

"Itachi, who's this?" Minato asked.

Itachi opened his mouth to answer but he was cut off.

"I'm Itachi's great uncle, Madara." He smiled at Itachi, "how about you introduce me to your friend?"

Itachi nodded, "Madara this is Minato, Minato this is Madara." His voice was barely audible. Having Madara find out about Minato was almost worse than his father, he didn't know what Madara would do if he knew, and he seemed like the kind of person who liked to know things to use against people.

"Nice to meet you Madara, and now that you mention it I can see the family resemblance."

"Oh yes," Madara smirked and put a hand on Itachi's head, messing up his hair, "Itachi and I are more alike than he will admit."

Itachi flinched at the touch. Madara seemed to be enjoying this. That couldn't be a good thing. "Not really…" he whispered.

"What was that?" Minato looked over at Itachi.

"I said we should finish up here and go." Itachi answered stepping out of Madara's reach. Minato nodded then turned and ordered two bags of tea.

"Minato, if I may ask, where did you get that shirt? I swear Itachi has one just like it." Madara motioned toward Minato's green and white flannel that was just peeking out from under his jacket.

Itachi could feel panic rising. He hadn't noticed earlier, but it was the shirt he'd borrowed the day Madara had arrived. How much did Madara remember? Why was he asking? Was he trying to figure out how long he'd been friends with Minato?

"Oh, I don't know, probably some discount bin somewhere, maybe a second hand store? My wife usually picks these things out." Minato laughed nervously, he gave Itachi a sideways look and saw how tense he was. He turned back around and paid for the tea, "well, it looks like we should be heading back. I have some work to do at home." Minato nodded at the door, "c'mon Itachi. And it was very nice meeting you Madara."

"A pleasure to meet you as well, Minato." Madara stopped smiling and looked at Itachi, "where's Deidara?"

Itachi didn't answer, just turned and headed out the door as quickly as he could followed closely by Minato.

Madara watched them go. This was an interesting development. He knew Itachi would leave the house to take walks, but that always seemed a little odd. "So you were actually visiting people…" He muttered to himself. Madara smiled, he'd been right about Itachi. It was time that he learned he couldn't hold on to these bonds.

Itachi started breathing again when he got to Minato's car. He didn't realize he was shaking. He slumped against the car door and took large gulping breaths; he could feel nausea coming. Not here… not now, he thought but he couldn't stop it. He fell forward onto his knees and started to gag and vomit.

Minato walked up to the car and observed the scene. He put his bag down on the sidewalk then leaned over and pulled Itachi's ponytail back and held back as much of his bangs as he could. He wasn't surprised really, Madara had a terrifying presence about him, and even he had sensed it. He couldn't begin to imagine what it must be like being related to him.

Itachi felt himself start to relax then sat back, leaning against the front tire of Minato's car. He fumbled around in his pockets until he found a small bottle that had his medication in it. He swallowed the two small pills then closed his eyes and waited for it to kick in. when he opened his eyes again he noticed Minato was sitting next to him on the ground. "I-I'm sorry… it…"

"It's alright. I'm glad I was here." Minato smiled, "let's get you back to my place. You can rest there." Itachi didn't argue, just stood up and climbed into the car.

When they got back to Minato's house, they unloaded the car and headed in. Deidara wasn't on the sofa anymore but they heard noise coming from down the hall. Curious, Minato went to see what the noise was. Itachi just sat down on the sofa and put his head in his hands. This would have consequences, he knew it. Madara would do something. He tried to put the thought out of his mind for the time being, but it kept coming back. He'd put more people's lives in danger.

Minato walked back in, "Hey Itachi, wanna come back to my office? It's quiet there and you can sleep without being bothered if you like? The couch is pretty comfortable…"

Itachi shook his head, "I can't sleep…not now, I'll have…" he stopped himself.

"Nightmares?" Minato asked, his face was serious. Itachi nodded. "I'll show you where it is and you can decide when you see it." Then Minato motioned for him to follow.

Itachi walked after Minato toward the back of the house, for the second time that day he felt like a kid again. They came to a door at the end of the hallway, Minato opened it and let Itachi inside. It was a small office with a desk and a chair that were cluttered with papers, books, and binders. Along the other wall was a couch with a blanket on it.

"It's not much, but I'll be doing some work back here so you won't be alone if you don't want. Deidara is playing video games with Naruto, so you don't have to worry about him."

Itachi moved to sit on the couch, "what do you do for work?" he realized that he hadn't asked before.

"Mostly data entry stuff. It's pretty boring but I do get to do it at home so I guess it's not so bad. I also do some freelance writing for magazines, but I don't get to do much of that unfortunately."

"Both of those sound nice though, very peaceful." Itachi commented.

"It is." Minato paused and sat at the desk chair and flipped open a binder, "have you ever thought about what you want to do?"

"Not really… I've pretty much known what I'm going to end up doing for most of my life."

"What's that?" Minato asked, spinning the desk chair so he faced Itachi.

"Join the…" he hesitated, "family business…"

"Your uncle doesn't run it I hope?"

"No."

"At least you have that to look forward to, I never knew what I wanted to do when I was in school. But it doesn't matter all that much if you're doing it with the right people. After I met Kushina, I would have done anything just as long as we were together." He started typing quickly.

"I suppose. Though unless Deidara sticks around I'm not sure I'll be as lucky with who I get to work with."

"I'm sure he will, you two seem to be close, not gonna lie, a lot closer than you were yesterday."

"Sometimes circumstances force you to get along with people really fast." Itachi said and looked at the floor.

"Circumstances?" Minato asked.

Itachi stared at the ceiling, "you know, when you save someone's life. But then again, you kind of feel obligated to because it's your fault they got hurt in the first place." He paused, "but then, you had to choose between a stranger and your brother and you made the wrong choice."

"Picking the stranger?"

"Yeah." Itachi sighed, "I don't suppose he'll ever forget that."

"Itachi, what happened yesterday?" Minato asked quietly, he had stopped typing and was looking over at Itachi who had sat forward and was resting his elbows on his knees.

Itachi looked down and clenched his jaw. "Have you ever had someone who you met and became friends with, but then for some reason they turn on you. But they are the kind of person who doesn't let things go and they swear to hurt you any way they can. And then you realize that they can hurt you more than anyone else because they know you and they know your limits and weaknesses and at every turn they exploit them. Then they start and the first time it feels like they are plunging in a knife, it hurts but it's not so bad and it won't kill you. But then every time you think of that person or remember something about that time in your life, it's like they are twisting their knife. Then you see them again and then they twist it even more, maybe stab you a few more times and put the knife back." Itachi felt a hand on his shoulder. "but it's not just that of course, because this person knows your entire life and they know that your life is shi-" he stopped himself before he swore in front of Minato, "anyways, then you get home and it's like walking into a war zone because you just never know what you are gonna do wrong or if someone is listening to what you say or watching your every move…"

Minato nodded, he was starting to understand now. It was becoming clear why Itachi was so closed off and why he never said anything about his family life. He felt Itachi start shaking and saw tears sliding down his face.

"And then," Itachi continued, "When someone blames you for their parent's dying, and it wasn't your fault but they blame you so much that you start to believe it yourself."

There was a soft knock on the door. Minato sighed, "I'm kind of busy, what do you need?"

"Is Itachi with you?" it was Deidara's voice.

"Yeah," Itachi answered.

The door opened slowly and Deidara stood there, his face was pale, "the bo… I mean, your father called. He wants you home. He also said to stop leaving your cell phone at home if you're going out."

Itachi nodded, then stood up. He wiped his face on his sleeve, "thanks for everything… I'll try to call before showing up next time." He said and smiled weakly.

"You don't have to call! Really, it's fine." Minato assured him as they walked back to the living room.

They slipped their coats and shoes back on and headed for the door. Itachi was worried about Deidara, he didn't usually look worried when his father called, unless he was in trouble. Madara kept coming into his mind, and he hoped that he might be able to do something to held Deidara.

They walked quickly back to Itachi's house in silence, but when they got to the door Deidara hesitated, "whatever happens… I'm glad I got to work with you…"

"Same." Itachi replied, then they shook hands. He looked into Deidara's large blue eyes, he could tell he was scared. It was his fault of course, just like everything else.

Itachi opened the door and they stepped in. almost immediately His father appeared by the door and slammed it shut making them both flinch.

"I want both of you in my office now!" Fukaku yelled.

Itachi nodded then moved to go past him. He saw Madara standing in the kitchen doorway; their eyes met and glared up at him.

"Hello Itachi, how was your day?" Madara asked, smiling calmly.

Itachi felt anger growing inside of him, he just stopped and continued to glare at Madara. He would have stayed there if a hand hadn't grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down the hallway and into the office and shoved him into a chair. A second later Deidara was in the chair next to him and the door slammed shut.

"What is the definition of the word body guard Deidara?" Fukaku's voice came at them from behind.

"A p-person who protects someone else…" Deidara managed to stammer out.

"It's interesting you know that. See, the way I hear it twice now you've left Itachi and on one of these occasions his life was in danger. Now, does that sound like it matches up with your definition?" Fukaku leaned over Deidara and brought his face inches away from Deidara's nose.

"n-no…"

"And what part of your definition matches up with getting stabbed multiple times?"

There was a long pause as Deidara just stared back, "none of it…"

Itachi could feel his anger rising, "It's not his fault. You can't blame him for not knowing the person he's fighting has a knife." Itachi started to get up.

"Oh, please. Don't act like you're not part of this." Fukaku twisted so that he was leaning over Itachi's chair, "You never liked having Deidara around from the start, and now I hear today that you've been sneaking around behind my back with complete strangers without your bodyguard."

"I don't need a body guard! My shoulder has been fine for weeks now! And you can tell Madara he can stop spying on me!"

Fukaku's face twisted into a cruel smile, "you think it was Madara? Sasuke told me everything I needed to know about the fight yesterday. From the sound of things you're about half the fighter you were." He face shifted to a scowl, "You're weak and I have no place for weakness in my family."

"Look, boss…" Deidara started.

Fukaku turned back to Deidara, "I'm not a moron Deidara, I know he told you not to tell me about this Minato," he almost spat the word out of his mouth. "So boys, what do I do here? Itachi, you have enough on your plate for tomorrow already. I'm not worried that you won't feel the consequences of your actions. But Deidara, you seem to be very bad at your job. But I'm not an unreasonable person." He walked behind Deidara's chair and whispered, "You have one more chance, and if you disobey one more order I will have you terminated permanently. You were hired to protect my son, my flesh and blood, and if anything to happens to him or I find out he's been going around without protection, then you are going to find yourself with a lot of powerful enemies."

Deidara swallowed, "y-yes boss."

"Now get out, I have one more thing I need to talk to Itachi about, in private." Fukaku added.

Deidara got up and walked to the door, he looked back at Itachi and their eyes met then he left the room, closing the door quietly after himself.

Fukaku walked around to the front of Itachi's chair and leaned against the front of his desk and scowled down. He crossed his arms over his chest. Itachi stared back, not letting his face betray any emotions.

"You let your younger brother take on a man your own age by himself. The same man who caused him to go unconscious and have a fever for five days because he poisoned him. The same man who you were 'friends' with. Instead you went to defend someone who you didn't even like, someone who's only job was to watch your back. Someone who should be able to take care of himself. You chose that over family."

"Sasuke was fine! Orochimaru won't hurt him, he needs…" Itachi stopped himself.

"I don't give a shit about what Orochimaru needs or whatever you think he will or will not do. You NEVER put others before your own family." As he said this Fukaku leaned in, grabbing the front of Itachi's shirt. "If I hear that this happens again, or if I see it myself, I will make your life more of a hell than it already is. If you think having an illness is bad, I can make it much worse. You put family first or you aren't part of my family." Then he leaned back against the desk, "now get out."

Itachi stood quickly and walked to the door, "Oh, one more thing. You are banned from seeing this Minato person. From now on you leave the house with permission only."

Itachi opened his mouth to protest, but stopped. His father was beyond angry and arguing might lead to something worse, he was lucky to have made it through without getting any new injuries. "Yes sir." He whispered and left.

He went back to his room, the blank walls stared at him. He threw himself onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling. There were so many thoughts going through his head that his mind was blank. His eyelids grew heavy and as much as he didn't want to he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

He dreamed he was running, or trying to run. There was something chasing him but he didn't know what it was and he couldn't turn and look. All of a sudden whatever it was caught up with him and grabbed his waist and he could feel hands grabbing his arms and legs so that whatever it was could envelop him. The hands started pulling him down and before he knew it he was on his knees and still slipping. He felt something pull painfully on his hair and he screamed himself awake.


	10. Chapter 10

Rain drops trickled down the window panes in Itachi's room. The sound of the storm thundered outside. The only light came from under the door and a distant streetlight that shined across the backyard and through the window. Itachi lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. He'd tried to sleep, but his brain had other ideas. Every time he closed his eyes the nightmares came back. He felt numb. He hadn't moved since he'd laid down after leaving the office.

Something inside him had broken; there was no way out now, no other option. But it wasn't the shock of the yelling anymore, it wasn't the threats, or the new restrictions. He was tired; so tired he couldn't even make himself feel sad. He just felt numb. His limbs felt slightly tingly. It felt like his brain was floating just above where his body lay and it was looking down at him, laughing and telling him how stupid he was.

He took a deep breath, he had to get back in control. He had to get a hold of himself. He slowly sat up and put his legs over the side of the bed, he could at least change out of his jeans. But he just stayed seated. He had to figure out what to do about Minato. If anything happened to him, it would be his fault. That was something he couldn't live with.

He checked the clock, it was almost 3am, maybe a change of scene will help, he thought. He slowly changed and grabbed a blanket and headed down the hall to the living room. When no one was around and all the lights were off he could almost forget where he was. He wrapped up in his blanket and lay down on the sofa. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on the rain, on the dripping water, and the silence of the house. He started feeling less detached, but didn't fall totally asleep the rest of the night.

.:.

Deidara hit the punching bag repeatedly. He didn't bother with protecting his hands and he could feel the skin tearing off his knuckles. It was no more than he deserved. After five minutes of constant pounding he was out of breath and leaned against the bag. He panted and let the blood drip onto the floor. He'd been hitting the bag so hard that a spray of blood was all over his shirt, the floor, and the punching bag. His hands started to shake and then he realized that his whole body was shaking.

He walked over to the side of the room and slid down the wall until he was sitting. He was still breathing hard but now it wasn't from exertion, it was fear. He had never met anyone as terrifying as Fukaku. There was a sharp pain in his arm; when he looked down he saw blood darkening a spot on his shirt. He sighed, he must have popped a stitch or two; not that he was going to tell anyone about it. If his boss thought he was weak then he would prove him wrong.

He leaned his head back against the wall, how could he have been so stupid? He'd had one job: never leave Itachi's side. And he'd done that multiple times. When he'd seen Itachi being held by that large guy he'd realized his mistake and sworn he wouldn't let it happen again, but he had. From now on, he would never leave Itachi, never disobey an order, and never give Fukaku any reason to have him… permanently terminated, or killed, he thought.

It was confusing though, the way Fukaku treated Itachi. He would hire a person to protect him at the cost of his life, then would threaten Itachi and tell him they weren't related. It all made no sense. Deidara started to breathe normally again, he'd have to clean the floor. He walked up the stairs and to the kitchen where he grabbed a dishrag and headed back down. He spent fifteen minutes scrubbing the bloodstains off the floorboards, though he wasn't sure that he had made all of them. He shuddered, so being the kid of a mob boss maybe wasn't the pampered life he'd always thought it was.

Deidara finished up and headed back up the stairs. After he put the dishrag back in the kitchen he went to the living room to get some sleep. When he got there he was surprised to see Itachi on the sofa. He sighed, now where do I sleep? Then he sat down in an armchair and dozed off. He hadn't realized how tired he was before, but pretty soon he was fast asleep.

.:.

Mikoto yawned and walked into the kitchen. She put the kettle on and started heating up the frying pan. It was a Friday, at least Sasuke won't be in that bad a mood, she smiled. Her son was an interesting kid; so much like his father, she thought.

She frowned, Itachi usually woke him up by now; she walked down the hall and knocked softly on his door, "Sasuke, it's time to get up, breakfast in a few minutes." She waited until she heard a low groan and movement, then went back down the hall. As she walked past Itachi's room she noticed the door was slightly open, maybe he's up already, she thought.

Stepping back into the kitchen, she started to make eggs and a pot of black tea. Fukaku should be awake soon as well. After she finished making eggs she scraped them onto a plate and sat down with a mug of tea. Just then, Sasuke pushed the door open and walked in half asleep. "Good morning, Sasuke." She smiled.

"'Morning" Sasuke mumbled, sitting down at the table.

Mikoto sighed, "its Friday, the weekend is coming, are you excited?"

Sasuke shrugged as he ate, "Uncle Madara says I get extra training. So, that's kind of exciting."

"Sasuke…" Mikoto hesitated, "When was the last time you just had fun? Life isn't all about fighting…"

"Training is fun." Sasuke interrupted.

Mikoto sighed again, "But there is more to life than just becoming head of the family. There are things about life to enjoy if you slow down and savor things."

Sasuke scowled, "If I slow down then Itachi speeds up, I'm going to defend my right to lead the family."

"Finish up eating and get ready to go," Mikoto said. Her son was starting to become his father, and while she was glad that he was determined and had a plan, it hurt to see him so focused on such a small goal.

Mikoto stood and started to clear the table. Itachi should be awake by now, she thought. Curious, she peeked into the living room. Her face softened and a smile played at the corners of her mouth. Itachi was still asleep on the sofa wrapped in blankets. It had been a long time since she'd seen Itachi look so relaxed, he almost looked like a kid again.

A loud shuffling by the front door snapped her back to reality. "Sasuke, I'll walk you to school today." She said, and smiled at her youngest.

"Whatever." Sasuke mumbled and stood up from tying his shoes. Mikoto walked over and slipped shoes on, then headed out the front door with Sasuke.

.:.

Fukaku stepped out into the hallway and walked down to the kitchen. Before he headed through the door he paused, something looked different in the living room. He frowned and switched the light on. He saw Itachi asleep on the sofa and Deidara slouched over in the armchair. He sighed, he guessed that Itachi might hate him more than usual today. Not without reason of course, he'd had to learn a lesson and that required him to take action. Someday Itachi would understand why he'd pushed him so far, someday when he was strong and a powerful part of the Uchiha. That is, of course, if he lived long enough.

He turned the light off and walked into the kitchen. As he walked to the sink he noticed a blood soaked dishrag. "What the hell…" he muttered to himself. He picked it up by a corner and headed to the bathroom where he dropped it into the laundry basket and washed his hands.

As he scrubbed, he looked up at himself in the mirror. Am I really that old, He thought. So old that someone would think I'm ready to fall? His own father had died in a fire fight before the Uchiha had taken total control of Konoha. He often wondered if he would have the same fate. Fukaku dried his hands quickly then walked back to the kitchen.

The water in the kettle was still hot so he poured himself a mug of tea, grabbed a stack of papers, and sat down at the kitchen table. He flipped absently through the stack, some people would be leaving Konoha this month. Not that he didn't like them, it was just business: if you couldn't afford to pay for the services of protection from the Uchiha, then you were asked to leave or forced out.

The kitchen door opened slowly and Itachi walked in. he didn't notice his father sitting at the table. As he poured himself tea he took a deep breath, he wasn't ready to be awake yet. He heard a throat clear behind him and he jumped. He whipped around. As he turned, his elbow hit the mug and spilled tea all over the counter and the floor.

Itachi's eyes met his father's and their gaze locked for a few seconds. "S-sorry… I didn't see you…"

Fukaku nodded, "its fine." He took a sip of tea, "how'd you sleep?"

Itachi grabbed a towel and started to mop up tea from the counter, "not well" he answered quietly.

"You slept on the sofa…?" Fukaku raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, so?" Itachi knelt down and started to clean the floor.

Fukaku shrugged, he didn't really care where Itachi decided to sleep "You might have gotten more sleep if you'd slept in your bed." He scribbled on one of the sheets of paper he was holding.

Itachi didn't respond and just poured himself more tea. Even though he'd gotten some sleep, he was too tired to talk, especially to his father.

After he finished adding sugar and milk to his new mug of tea, he headed toward the door. If he could not be in the same room as his father for a little bit, it would make his day that much easier. He hadn't really thought about what he was going to do since he couldn't leave the house, but being around his father wasn't in the plan.

"You have training tonight." Fukaku said as he sipped his tea.

"Yes father." He replied quietly. He was about to push kitchen door open when he paused. "I-I need to ask you something." He closed his eyes and gripped the handle of his mug tighter.

"Yes?" Fukaku looked up, curious.

"I want to make a deal." He swallowed hard, he'd never negotiated with his father before, but he had nothing to lose now, "Please, just listen."

There was a sigh from behind Itachi, "ok."

Itachi turned around and faced his father, "about Minato…" he paused, "I'm asking… no, begging you. Keep him out of everything, him and his family." He set his jaw, "Don't make them suffer because you're mad at me. They don't know anything about who you are or anything about the family."

Fukaku raised an eyebrow, this was new, "alright, If I don't, then what's in it for me?"

Itachi broke eye contact and stared at the floor, "I-I'll do whatever you want. I won't see them again, I'll protect Sasuke for the rest of my life. J-Just promise me you won't hurt them." He looked pleadingly into his father's eyes.

Fukaku frowned, "you'd do anything? You'll never question anything again and put yourself into whatever I ask you to do 100%?"

Itachi's face hardened, "yes."

"Alright, I won't touch them." He paused, "but if you don't hold up your end of this, I will make them suffer and force you to watch." Fukaku's voice was serious, "And don't think for a second that I'll forget."

Itachi nodded, then turned to leave again. He was about to push open the kitchen door when it swung open and he stumbled forward, dumping tea all over the floor and Madara.

Madara, who looked half asleep, reached up to catch whatever was falling towards him and caught Itachi by the arm before he knocked them both over. "What the…" He started, blinking a few times, trying to figure out what just happened.

Itachi pulled away from Madara as fast as he could. "I-I'm sorry…" he said, feeling his spine begin to tingle the way it usually did around his great uncle.

Madara scowled, "watch where you're going."

Itachi slowly backed away into the kitchen. He looked into his empty mug and placed it back onto the counter, then grabbed the towel for a second time. He edged closer to the door and started to wipe up the spill.

Madara moved around him and started to make coffee. He really didn't understand why this family was so obsessed with tea, it had no bite and it made you sleepy. Sure some of it had caffeine but it didn't make you feel awake. He stirred instant coffee into hot water then started to drink it carefully. He sat down at the table with Fukaku, but stared past him out the window over the sink; he didn't want to waste time discussing anything with his nephew. He smiled to himself, up until today he had yet to see Itachi do anything except get yelled at, start arguments, and generally cause problems. But tonight he would finally get to see him fight, and that's what mattered. Sure, Sasuke was talented and he had the curse mark going for him, but there was a reason Fukaku was keeping Itachi away and he couldn't wait to find out what it was.

Itachi finished cleaning the floor and started making his third mug of tea. When he reached for the kettle he found it almost empty. He sighed quietly and filled his mug with tap water, then threw it in the microwave. The room was filled with an awkward silence, no one acknowledged each other's existence. In the silence Itachi thought about what he'd just done: pretty much swearing eternal cooperation and loyalty to the family, if not he would have to watch the people who had taken care of him the most suffer and inevitably die. It had been a stupid decision to make, but it would at least protect Minato for a little while at least. Itachi had no assurance that his father wouldn't hurt them, but he also didn't do anything unnecessary. All his father ever wanted was for him to go with everything and now he would, he had no other choice.

Fukaku stared at the same sheet of paper for a long time. He was doing work, but his mind was elsewhere. He thought it strange that Itachi had made a deal so suddenly. The only reason he could come up with was that whoever these people were, they must have meant a lot. On the one hand he was slightly annoyed that these people, this family, had taken precedence over his own family, but now things had changed. At least he hoped they had. The last thing he felt like doing was ordering a killing. Things in Konoha had been peaceful and he didn't want to have to deal with the police again. His father had no problem killing; that used to be the way people would be dealt with if they couldn't meet the protection costs. But Fukaku had changed that, it had been too messy. He sighed and thought about what Itachi had said, that he'd do anything. That would be put to the test later.

As soon as his tea was done, Itachi left the kitchen. He couldn't stand being in the same room as his father, but being in the same building as Madara gave him the creeps. He walked back to his room and sat at his desk. He had no e-mails and no texts, not that he normally texted people. He picked up the book he was reading, _War and Peace_ by Tolstoy. If he had nothing better to do he may as well read and pretend that he was somewhere else.

.:.

Sasuke scowled down at his lunch, he couldn't help but feel that his class was filled with idiots. They all just sat around and talked about pop stars and snot. None of them had any sense. He stabbed at the broccoli on his plate with a fork.

"Hey Sasuke!" A girl from his class with long blonde hair walked over, "Can I sit with you?" she smiled and tossed her ponytail.

Sasuke's eyes flicked upwards and his frown deepened, "I was just getting up. You can have the table to yourself." He grabbed his backpack and tray and stood up.

The girl's face fell, "Oh, thanks…" then she smiled again, "Are you gonna head outside?"

"I don't know." why wouldn't she just leave him alone?

"S-Sasuke…" the girl's cheeks turned pink. "Actually… I was gonna tell you something…" she stepped in front of him, blocking his path. She took a deep breath, "Sasuke, I like you!"

Sasuke froze, he hadn't expected to her to say anything like that. Then he scowled, "Get out of my way, I have better things to do."

The girl's eyes widened and her mouth opened as if she was going to say something. Her eyes filled with tears and her face twisted into a scowl, "well you're stupid anyways!" then she turned and ran out of the cafeteria, her sobs echoing behind her.

Sasuke shook his head, the girls in his class were the most annoying. They were always coming up to him and slipping notes into his backpack. They were all so wound up about liking boys that it detracted from their intelligence. He walked out of the cafeteria and headed to his locker, he could at least go outside and walk around or something. He grabbed his jacket and slammed the door shut.

"Sasuke!" there was a yell from behind him and he slowly turned around.

"What do you want loser?" He glared at Naruto. He noticed the girl from earlier was standing behind him.

"You made Ino cry! Apologize to her." Naruto snarled.

Sasuke snorted, "Make me."

Naruto hesitated, he couldn't get in any more trouble or his parents would ground him forever. But he couldn't just let Sasuke hurt people, "I'm giving you one more chance! Geez Sasuke, why are you so mean to everyone? Itachi isn't like that at all! How are you even related!?"

Sasuke turned purple with rage, "Don't you ever talk about him again!" he screamed and jumped at Naruto, pinning him to the ground. He started punching blindly, his anger boiling over. He faintly heard a scream in the background. All of a sudden he felt arms grab him from behind and drag him away from Naruto. He struggled against them, then started to calm down.

"Sasuke!" his teacher's voice thundered above him. She waited until he stopped moving then let his arms fall to his sides. "What is going on here?"

Naruto stood and wiped blood off his face and glared at Sasuke who just scowled back. "Nothing." Naruto said.

"Then who started this?" she demanded. Neither of them said anything. They both knew what was coming next. The teacher sighed, "alright, principal's office. Now." She looked at Ino, "You can head back to lunch." Then she walked behind Naruto and Sasuke all the way to the office.

.:.

Deidara was just finishing up bandaging his hands from the night before when the phone rang. He sighed then picked up, "Uchiha residence?"

"Hello, is this Sasuke's father?" there was a slightly agitated voice on the other end of the line.

"No, he's busy right now, can I take a message?"

The voice sighed, "Please inform him that Sasuke needs to be picked up right away and I would like to have a meeting with him as soon as possible."

"Sure, who's calling?" Deidara asked.

"Konoha Middle School."

"Ok, I'll let him know." Deidara replied, then hung up the phone. The boss wasn't gonna like this. He walked down the hall and knocked softly on the office door. He winced as his injured knuckles hit the wood repeatedly.

"What do you want?"

"Hey boss, Sasuke's school called."

There was a long silence inside the office, then the door opened, "what did they want?"

"Uh," Deidara started, still nervous around Fukaku from the day before, "he needs to be picked up and you have to schedule a meeting with them."

"Did they say why?"

Deidara shook his head, "no."

"Dammit." Fukaku swore, he had a lot of paperwork to get finished. He squinted at Deidara, "Your arm is bleeding again," he pushed up the sleeve and saw the blood soaked bandages and sighed. "You stay here and I'll send Itachi to get him. Let me look at that arm."

"No, its fine, I can go." Deidara stepped back, pulling his sleeve down.

"Deidara, if I need to call the doctor again I need to know." then he walked down the hall to Itachi's room and knocked on the door, "Itachi, you need to pick up Sasuke from school."

Itachi looked up from his book startled, then checked the time, it was only 1pm. He stood and grabbed a jacket and opened the door, "is everything ok?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He probably got into another fight, I'll call the school later and clear stuff up." Fukaku sighed.

Itachi nodded, then went to the door to put his shoes on, he was surprised when Deidara didn't follow him, "Am I going alone?" he asked, curious.

"I have things to do and I need to look at the stitches in Deidara's arm. You're fine."

Itachi stood and opened the front door, it had been a long time since he'd left the house alone; he almost forgot what it was like. He walked quickly, not wanting to make anyone wait, though he wasn't looking forward to the walk home with Sasuke. It would be quiet and tense, but it wouldn't compare to when they got back to the house. He approached the school, reminded of the day Orochimaru had started everything. He sighed and opened the door. He walked into the office and saw Sasuke sitting on a bench with his bag. Their eyes met and Sasuke scowled.

Itachi closed his eyes, "Come on, let's go."

"Hold on!" the receptionist interrupted, "are you Sasuke's father or legal guardian?"

"No, I'm his brother." Itachi said, the last word almost got stuck in his throat.

"You need to see the principal. We need to discuss Sasuke's behavior. He's with the parents of the other student right now, but he'll be done momentarily."

Itachi nodded and sat down on the bench next to Sasuke.

"Why didn't he come himself?" Sasuke asked, annoyed.

"He's busy." Itachi replied quietly.

Sasuke grunted, "Typical."

The office door opened and Naruto walked out with Minato behind him. Itachi saw Naruto's cut up face then he looked up and his eyes locked with Minato's.

Minato half-smiled, "Itachi, you look better than yesterday."  
Itachi didn't know what to do, Sasuke was watching and he would probably tell his father. He looked at the floor and clenched his jaw. You're doing this to protect them he told himself, you have to do it, for them.

"Itachi, when are you gonna come over and play video games again?" Naruto's voice pierced his heart. He felt tears gather at the corners of his eyes and he stared at the floor.

"Alright Sasuke, come into my office." The principal's voice broke the silence.

Sasuke stood and walked into the office. Itachi followed closely behind, as he walked past he glanced at Minato again. He wished he could at least tell him that he couldn't speak to him for his own benefit, it was for his own safety. Their eyes met again, but this time Minato gave him a questioning look. Itachi looked away again and headed into the office.

"Have a seat gentlemen." The principal said. Itachi and Sasuke sat down. "I'm going to be blunt. This is the third time Sasuke has attacked the same student in the past two months. I can't keep on looking the other way just because your dad gives the school funding."

"What happened?" Itachi frowned and looked at Sasuke who just crossed his arms and looked away.

"His teacher found him punching Naruto in the face repeatedly, and neither of them will say why."

Itachi's eyes widened. He'd heard Sasuke got into fights, he'd heard about the stupid challenges, but this was just straight brutality. "What's going to happen to Sasuke?" he asked.

"School policy says that this time he gets a suspension, but the next fight means he has to leave the school." he paused, "I'm sure your father will call and we can work something out. Education is important and I don't want to see Sasuke cut off possible opportunities. That being said, if this behavior is being reinforced at home…" he looked expectantly at Itachi.

"My father can call you later and you can discuss this with him, I'm just here to pick up Sasuke." Itachi stood up, he suddenly felt very uncomfortable; the same way he felt in the doctor's office. "Come on Sasuke." And they both walked out of the office.

They left the school building in silence and started walk back to their house. They were almost home when Itachi stopped, "why do you hate Naruto so much?"

Sasuke stopped, "stop trying to be so self-righteous. You think I'm wrong for hating him, but you've always hated me. I don't see the difference." He snarled.

"I don't hate you!" Itachi was exasperated, "don't you remember? We used to be friends!"

"You were only nice to me because you had to! Because dad said you did!" Sasuke screamed.

They were in front of their house now, "Father didn't tell me to! You're my brother, Sasuke!" Itachi shouted back.

"Well if I'm your brother, then why didn't you help me fight that guy? Why didn't you stop me from getting poisoned by him in the first place?! Admit it, you hate me because I'm gonna be head of the family!"

Itachi stared back, he couldn't respond, "I-I tried…to…" he started to say.

"And by the way, he's your dad." Sasuke interrupted, giving him a nasty look. Then he turned and went into the house.

So he'd told him, Itachi frowned. He had made one mistake, one wrong turn and now everyone exploded at him. He walked into the house and remembered the look in Minato's eyes: the confusion, the questions, and sadness. That had hurt to see.

Itachi stepped through the front door and closed it quietly behind him. His father was nowhere to be seen, but Madara was waiting in the living room. He looked bored, "Sasuke, come in here."

Itachi watched Sasuke face his uncle. He was about to head to his room, but he was curious. He slowly untied his shoes and listened.

"I told you not to fight other kids."

"Yeah, so?" Sasuke responded.

"Your father said the same thing."

"Does it look like I care?" Sasuke sounded annoyed. There was a loud smack and Itachi flinched.

"You may not care about other students or your education and to be honest, I don't really care either. But don't you ever be rude to me or disobey what I say again." Madara wasn't yelling, but his voice sounded angry. Sasuke was silent, then Itachi heard Madara speak again, "You have special training tonight. Now get out of my sight before I let your dad come and punish you more."

Itachi watched Sasuke walk down the hall holding the side of his face. There was still a small part of him that wanted to bring him ice, give him a hug, and tell him everything would be ok.

Madara walked down the hall, then he noticed Itachi still in the doorway, their eyes met and Madara paused, "Do you need something?" he asked mockingly.

Itachi scowled, "Not from you."

Madara laughed, "Oh yes, how was seeing Minato again? His kid is the one Sasuke fights with isn't it?" he smirked and maintained eye contact.

"None of your business." Itachi moved to push past him, he was starting to get sick of Madara's cryptic questions and mind games.

"Was he not happy to see you?" Madara's smirk deepened.

"I said it's none of your business," Itachi said louder trying to push past Madara again.

Madara's smirk faded and he grabbed Itachi's shoulder, "Watch it kid." He whispered in Itachi's ear, "I can be your worst enemy or your best friend. You already know that I control everyone in this house. If you think making peace with your dad will end your problems, you've got another thing coming." He gripped Itachi's shoulder tighter making him wince, "Your father didn't keep his promise before, what makes you think it'll change now?"

"Back off Madara." A voice came from behind him.

Itachi felt Madara's grip on his shoulder loosen. He realized he hadn't breathed in a long time and started to take deep breaths. He could feel sweat drip down the side of his face.

Madara didn't turn around, "I'll see you later." He said then turned to leave the house.

Itachi didn't move, just watched his great uncle slam the front door. He didn't realize he was shaking until he tried to take a step and stumbled.

Fukaku shook his head, he was starting to regret having Madara stay with them. "Madara is a liar, Itachi. Whatever he said, it's not true."

"I'm not so sure," Itachi scowled.

"Believe what you want." Fukaku shrugged. "Be ready for training in a few hours, I have some things to finish first." He turned to go.

"Aren't you going to ask about Sasuke?"

Fukaku paused, "I'll call the school later. I'm sure there is an arrangement we can come to." Then he continued into the living room.

Itachi walked back to his room and picked up his book again. He was shaken from his run in with Madara, but he was also tired. It was more than tired though. He just wished it would all end: the yelling, the anger, and the ridiculous expectations. He hated them, but now he was just too tired to fight it anymore.

.:.

Minato and Naruto sat on the front steps of their small house. Naruto held a rag up to his face trying to stop the blood from pouring out of a cut on the side of his face. Minato sighed and watched cars go by. "Naruto, what happened?" he wasn't angry, there was a different feel to the situation this time.

Naruto looked away, "He made Ino cry."

"Sasuke did?" Minato asked, and Naruto nodded. "Did he hit her?"

"No… she said that he was mean and ignored her, she was really upset... I didn't like seeing her like that." Naruto looked up at Minato, tears gathering in his large blue eyes, "then I saw him in the hallway and I wanted him to apologize so she would stop crying… but he just…" He sniffed and tears rolled down his cheeks.

Minato put an arm around Naruto and let him cry. "It's ok, Naruto, you were just trying to do the right thing." He said reassuringly. In truth he was proud that his son stood up for another kid.

"I don't understand, dad. How can Sasuke and Itachi be related to each other? They're so different… Itachi is nice and fun, but Sasuke…He's angry and mean and he hurts people…"

Minato sighed, "Itachi and Sasuke have a difficult life. People react differently to hard situations and I think that whatever they have to deal with makes Sasuke very angry." He looked down at Naruto, "If someone is acting like that it's usually because of a lot of reasons, and even though you don't know why, you just have to take care of them the best you can."

"So I should just let Sasuke hurt people?" Naruto looked confused.

"No. hurting people is never ok, you just try your best to be a friend for him. That does NOT mean that you let him hurt you." Minato said sternly, taking the cloth away from Naruto and looking at the cut on his face.

Naruto was quiet, "Dad… why was Itachi acting so weird? Why didn't he say hi?"

Minato held the cloth back up to Naruto's cut, "I don't know, but I don't think we are going to see him much anymore." Minato felt a part of him grow heavy, he'd seen the sadness in Itachi's eyes, seen him holding back words. He'd wanted to say hello, wanted to greet them, but something was holding him back and Minato had no idea what it was.

They sat in silence for a long time, Minato put his arm around Naruto again. Watching his son get hurt tore holes in his heart. Tears gathered at the corners of his eyes, this hadn't been what he'd wanted for his child. He'd wanted to get away from violence. To raise Naruto in a place where he could be safe. But now he could see that he'd failed. This place was toxic.

"Dad, are you mad?" Naruto asked quietly.

Minato looked down confused, then smiled at his son, "no, Naruto, I'd never be mad at you for standing up for another kid." He held Naruto tighter, "I love you."

.:.

That afternoon came too quickly. Itachi looked at the clock and groaned inwardly. His father had seemed too eager about training, which was making him dread it coming. He was almost finished with _War and Peace,_ but he didn't want it to end. He closed the book.

There was a loud knock on the door, "Itachi, get ready. I'll meet you in the basement in five minutes."

He sighed. So it was time. He changed clothes slowly and grabbed his hand wraps. He noticed for the first time how dirty they were: yellowed with sweat, brown with dirt, and red with blood stains. They had been so clean when he first got them, icy white and soft. Now they were old and stiff. He felt like he could relate somehow.

Itachi shook his head and walked down the hallway. He bumped into his father who was also heading towards the basement. Then they walked down the stairs. Fukaku opened the basement door and headed in, followed by Itachi.

As soon as he walked in he could sense an electric atmosphere. He looked up and saw Madara and Sasuke, that wasn't normal. What are they still doing here, he wondered.

"Hey" Sasuke frowned, "This is my training time. Get out."

Madara smiled and started to laugh, "Don't worry Sasuke, this is your special training."

Itachi looked at Fukaku, "What's going on?" he demanded.

"Training." Fukaku said, then turned the lock on the basement door.

"Allow me to explain," Madara started, "today we are testing you both to see if you can remove yourself from a fight. Sometimes even the strongest fighters can be brought down by the weaker if emotions get in the way." Madara kept his eyes on Itachi.

Itachi started to feel uncomfortable and looked longingly at the basement door.

"Your father and I have decided that you," Madara pointed at Sasuke, "and Itachi are going to fight each other. You will continue to fight each other until one of you concedes or has the other incapacitated."

The last word sent chills down Itachi's spine. He'd already had that happen once recently and he didn't want another painful injury, again. But he also didn't want to fight Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at Madara, he felt unsure. Itachi was just naturally stronger than he was because he was older. As much as he wanted to fight, he hesitated at the thought of being beaten by Itachi. As these thoughts ran through his mind he remembered part of what Madara had said: the strongest fighters can be brought down by the weaker if emotions got in the way. He smiled.

"You can begin anytime." Madara said, walking over to stand next to Fukaku.

This is actually happening, Itachi thought. He saw Sasuke stretch his arms and start to get ready. Their eyes met. Sasuke ran forward and attacked. "W-Wait!" Itachi yelled, blocking attacks from Sasuke. He continued to defend, trying to wrap his head around what was happening. After all the lectures about protecting Sasuke he'd been given, now he had to hurt him? It didn't make sense.

"Itachi! Attack!" he heard the sharp yell of his father. He tried to think of a way to attack that wouldn't hurt Sasuke, but he was just so small. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his father start to walk around the two of them, watching everything. "Attack Sasuke now or I'll hurt them!" Fukaku yelled.

Itachi felt his heart snap. He scowled, then kicked Sasuke in the chest. He watched his little brother slide across the floor then pick himself up, he let out a terrifying yell and rushed over again. This time he threw his entire body weight into Itachi, sending them both to the floor.

They rolled across the floorboards, both trying to get the upper hand. Itachi was stronger, but Sasuke was smaller and faster. Every time Itachi would try to pin him, he would slip away. They separated and stood up.

Itachi felt a tug at the back of his head, he's your younger brother you shouldn't be doing this. He frowned harder and tried to ignore the voice. He landed a blow on Sasuke's face which made him stumble back a few steps.

"Stop holding back!" Fukaku shouted, "Do you want them to suffer!?" Itachi scowled and punched again.

Sasuke dodged and managed to kick Itachi in the stomach. He watched as his older brother doubled over. He smirked and grabbed the front of Itachi's shirt and punched him in the jaw as hard as he could, then let go and watched Itachi crumple to the ground.

Itachi felt nausea start to build. He started to get up, but there was a sharp pain in his side, he tried again but he was met with the same sensation.

Sasuke kicked one last time, this time he heard Itachi yell. He stepped back and his eyes widened as he watched Itachi start coughing and gagging. A spray of blood covered the floor and a trickled out of the side of his mouth.

Itachi struggled to breathe. His throat burned and he could taste a weird mix of iron and bile. He could feel himself shaking and hyperventilating. He pictured Minato's face and remembered everything Minato had done for him: taking him to the doctor, welcoming him into his home, showing him a world of warmth and kindness. Itachi felt something inside of him click, there was no way he was going to let that all go to waste and be ripped away just because he didn't have the guts to fight his own brother.

He pushed himself off the ground and faced Sasuke. He could feel all the anger from the past few months surge through his veins and burn in the pit of his stomach, he felt the blood drip from the corner of his mouth, slide down his chin, and heard it land on the floor. He glared at Sasuke then attacked with all his strength.

Sasuke was surprised, he hadn't expected to see Itachi get up again. Even if he had, he didn't expect to see Itachi get up looking stronger than he had at the start of the fight. He dodged a few quick attacks, but a kick connected with his leg and he fell to the floor. A second later Itachi was on top of him. He punched repeatedly until Sasuke managed to break free.

Itachi saw Sasuke move toward the other side of the room. He turned and attacked again, grabbing Sasuke's shirt and slamming his knee into Sasuke's stomach. Then he grabbed his throat and pressed his back against the wall. He felt Sasuke go limp.

Itachi blinked. He looked down and saw his baby brother, his face covered in blood, slowly wheezing and gasping for breath. What have I done, he thought, loosening his grip and watching Sasuke fall forward onto his knees.

Sasuke looked up slowly and met his brother's eyes, he held his gaze for a few seconds. "I-Itachi…" then his face twisted into a smirk, "You lose." Then he jumped up and slammed his fist in to the side of Itachi's head.

Itachi felt his neck twist and pain exploded at his temple. He saw the room swirl around then felt the back of his head slam into the floor. Everything went black.

.:.

There was a ringing in Itachi's ears and a throbbing pain in the back of his skull. His torso hurt. He slowly opened his eyes, letting the light make them sting and run. He stared up at the ceiling and lay still. He could feel a throbbing in his jaw. As he lay, he realized that his eyes weren't running; he was crying. His mouth tasted awful and that in itself almost made him throw up.

"Finally awake then?"

A voice startled him, he'd thought he was alone. He turned his head to the side, wincing as it throbbed more from the extra movement.

Fukaku was standing, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He sighed, "Your head's going to hurt for a few days."

Itachi opened his mouth to respond, but ended up coughing instead. He winced as every breath made lightning bolts of pain shoot out across his ribs. He uncovered his mouth after coughing and saw blood on his hand.

Fukaku walked over with a water bottle and Itachi's medication. He watched as Itachi struggled to sit up, then he reached out a hand. Itachi ignored it at first, trying a few more times to get up, then scowled and looked away but grabbed his father's hand and let him help. He took the medicine bottle and quickly swallowed two pills, letting them calm down his stomach. He sat a while and just stared at the ground vacantly. "How could I have done that…?" he asked quietly.

"Done what?" Fukaku asked, leaning against the wall again.

"I hurt him…" Itachi's expression changed to horror.

"It's what you had to do."

"I almost killed my own brother…" the shock of what had transpired that afternoon was starting to hit him.

"If you hadn't hesitated at the end you would have won." Fukaku said.

"Even if I had won, we'd still both be bleeding. It doesn't matter if it was me or him, we just fought each other with the intent to kill… because you wanted us too…" Itachi's eyes were growing wider, "I could have killed him."

"You have the potential, that's what I needed to see." Fukaku knelt down next to Itachi, "I'm not disappointed."

Itachi ignored his father, "S-Sasuke, how is he?"

Fukaku sighed, "He's fine, better off than you." He paused, "come on, it's late. You've been unconscious for a few hours, let's get you back upstairs."

Itachi stood up shakily. He would have fallen if Fukaku hadn't grabbed his arm. They slowly went up the stairs and through the living room. Itachi felt his eyes start to close half way down the hall. He felt very heavy all of a sudden and felt himself slipping then slowly falling through the air. The blackness was comforting now, it felt warm and calming.

Fukaku grunted as Itachi's full weight almost dragged him to the floor. He sighed and readjusted his grip then continued down the hallway to Itachi's room where he left his son on the bed then turned to leave. He heard a cough then gasping and whipped around.

Itachi lay on his side, his eyes half open. "Why did I have to do that?" he whispered.

Fukaku remembered seeing his son looking up at him with big black eyes, asking him the same question almost ten years ago. He held Itachi's gaze for a minute, then walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, "Because you had to." Then he left the room, closing the door quietly, and walked back to his office.


	11. Chapter 11

Itachi's eyes snapped open. He was sore. His entire body felt like it had slammed into a wall repeatedly. No, I have definitely been slammed into a wall repeatedly, he thought, or at least the floor. He sighed then winced as a sharp pain cut through his sides. He stared up at the ceiling trying to move as little as possible. He tried to close his eyes and go back to sleep, he was tired and the last thing he wanted to do was start thinking. He knew it would start: the thoughts buzzing around, the anger about everything, the dread of the coming day, and the constant state of uncertainty that whatever he was doing was wrong and would cause problems.

He lay still. Think of calming things, think of relaxing places, think of… no not that, he squeezed his eyes shut. He let out a shallow breath, I may as well just be awake. There was a noise outside his door that made him jump. A small creak in the floorboards the echoed through the silent house. He flinched and moved to sit up then slid back down gasping for breath. It was probably just the house settling. He rolled his head to the side and stared out the window, the dark sky was pinpricked with stars and the moon was full. It looked so far away, so cold… he shivered then looked down and saw that he wasn't using any blankets.

I can't be in here, he thought, its too small. He rolled slowly onto his side, trying his best to ignore the stabs of pain and the soreness shooting down his sides. He managed to get both feet on the ground and sit up before his head started pounding. He paused for a minute to let himself rest. His body was tired but his mind was wide awake. He glanced over at his clock, only 3 AM. He would be awake in a few hours anyways it wasn't worth it trying to go back to sleep now. He slowly stood up, groaning slightly, if nothing else his life was certainly filled with pain. He walked slowly to his door and peeked out; all the lights were off and it was silent. Good, he thought, it's the only time this house actually feels like a home.

He quietly walked to the kitchen, being careful to avoid the places in the floor that creaked. When he got there he pulled a mug out of the cabinet and filled the kettle with water, then put it on the stove, turned it on, and sat to wait for it to boil. He gazed out of the kitchen window that looked over the garden, his mother's plants somehow survived through winter. The moon shone in through the glass, illuminating the kitchen table in a pale blue glow. It was as about as close to relaxing as Itachi could get.

He heard the water start to boil and quickly turned the stove off pouring the steaming liquid into his mug. He dropped in a chamomile tea bag and brought it over to the table. He pulled out a chair and stared into his mug as his tea steeped. There was a small part of him that tried to deny what he'd done earlier that day, a tiny fragment of his heart that wanted to believe that he'd done the right thing. Sure, he'd "protected" Minato, but even that protection was at the mercy of his father who was easily angered and quick to take the smallest action and turn it into a sign of rebellion. And with Minato factored into the mix anything he did could be called into question.

The kitchen door creaked open, making Itachi almost jump out of his chair. He whipped around and looked up into Madara's unamused face.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" Madara asked.

"Shouldn't you?" Itachi replied, frowning and turning back to take the tea bag out of his mug.

"I'm a busy man with a lot of things happening. I don't sleep." Madara said and walked over to where the instant coffee was kept.

Itachi ignored him, he didn't really care what Madara did.

"That was quite a fight to watch earlier." Madara casually mentioned as he stirred his coffee. "Funny though, it didn't have to be such a close match. If you'd tried from the start it would've been over in a few minutes."

Itachi tensed, he saw Sasuke's bloodied face again. His hand starting to squeeze his brother's throat, the thump of the jugular against his palm. He shuddered.

"Everything aside, I'd say you were a fairly good fighter for someone your age." Madara moved so that he was leaning against the wall facing Itachi, who was avoiding making eye contact. He frowned, "that's something to be proud of. Stop acting like it's a curse."

"I don't see the point." Itachi said quietly, taking a sip of his tea.

"Cardiovascular exercise, bone strengthening, building muscle…" Madara smirked, "unless of course you meant fighting Sasuke." He raised an eyebrow. Itachi looked away. "You can stop acting like you hated every second of it. I was watching, there was a moment when you enjoyed it, and as much as you tell yourself that you care about your baby brother," he snarled, "you hate him. You hate him for not being on your side, for not being targeted by your father, for being your weakness."

Itachi scowled and glared at Madara, "What would you know about anything." But he felt his stomach drop, maybe he did hate Sasuke, maybe he was just being selfish, maybe if he just let go then everything would be ok.

"What would I know? You're not the first Uchiha who's ever had the title of head of the family ripped out of their hands. You certainly won't be the last." Madara took a long sip of coffee, "and this deal you've made with your father? Don't think for a second that it will change anything. I'm sure you felt noble defending that pitiful pretend family of yours, but they're not safe."

"They would be if you hadn't said anything!" Itachi slammed his fist on the table. "My life is none of your business so you can stop watching me and stalking me!"

"I did you a favor." Madara slammed down his mug and leaned across the table, "you know it couldn't have lasted. You know he would've found out. You think the great head of the Uchiha family would have reacted so calmly after finding out that his son has been fraternizing with strangers? You think he would have let you off so easy? You're lucky it was just threats for now, you're lucky you can still walk!"

"Why does it matter to you whether I get hurt or not? It's not like it affects you any way." Itachi leaned across the table.

"You don't see it do you?" an amused look came over Madara's face, "It's not my doing. It's because you're sick. You think he's just starting to get more agreeable because you're trying harder? He looks at you and sees the inevitability of death and it scares him. All of a sudden he can't bear to touch you because he might break you."

Itachi opened his mouth to respond but was cut off short.

"And then you came and offered yourself up because you're scared of what he might do to your pretend family. You think you're trying to escape his grasp but all you're doing is cowering in his shadow." Madara stepped closer and grabbed the front of Itachi's shirt, "well someday your daddy isn't going to be there to control you." He started to push the chair backward, "what will you do then? When you don't have any more people to grovel in front of? You know what I saw when you and Sasuke were fighting? I saw Fugaku's lap dog." He let go and the chair fell forward.

"I had to…" Itachi started between panting breaths.

"Why? For Minato? He never asked for your protection." Madara turned to leave, "a simple thank you would suffice. Or next time I'll just let him find out himself." He was part way through the door when he paused, "It was one of your daddy's best ideas to have you and Sasuke fight each other," there was a soft laugh, "I finally got to see you in action." Then he disappeared into the darkness of the hallway.

Itachi leaned forward and put his head in his hands. Madara was terrifying and confusing. He squeezed his eyes shut, Sasuke's face was all he could see: bruised, bloody, gasping. That's all I do, I just hurt people. He opened his eyes again and stared vacantly at the kitchen wall until his eyelids grew heavy and his head fell forward and he fell asleep at the table.

.:.

A loud high-pitched beeping disturbed Fugaku's sleep. He groaned and rolled over slamming a fist down on the snooze button. For the first time in a long time he'd been able to sleep. Madara seemed sated, for a short while anyways, Sasuke had looked satisfied with his performance, and Itachi… well, he was finally in a good place to resume working for the family. He's still dying, the thought was constantly in the back of his mind. It wasn't that he felt bad for him, it was mostly just figuring out how to work with it, would he be around to even protect Sasuke? He sighed and sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, there was a lot of paperwork he'd have to get through today since it was the start of payment collection.

He stared out the window at the rising sun, red streaks were just starting to glow in the clouds: a new dawn for a new day. Fugaku sighed and looked away from the sunrise. He didn't have time to admire something so ephemeral and useless.

He stood up and closed the curtains grabbing clothes and a towel and heading down the hall to the bathroom. For the second day in a row he could see Itachi's door was slightly open. He's not in there again? He rolled his eyes, there was a certain level of drama that Itachi seemed to love pushing the boundary of. Half of the things he did were unnecessary and the other half were wrong, somehow Itachi just didn't get it.

Fugaku showered quickly and got dressed. The only problem with Itachi not sleeping in his room was that now, instead of getting to work early, Fugaku had to go find him. He was starting to get agitated; today of all days was not a good day to be late to his office.

He walked quickly down the hall to the kitchen, peeking into the living room before entering, just in case Itachi had slept on the sofa again. Not there, he thought, which was odd. He couldn't be in the basement because he couldn't walk that far. Fugaku considered this as he entered the kitchen, then paused: Itachi was slumped over the kitchen table next to a cold half-finished mug of tea. He blinked, it certainly wasn't the first place he thought he'd find his son. He sighed and started to make himself his own mug of tea. He was tempted to just let Itachi sleep there for the day but there was too much that needed to get done and he needed Itachi to help.

He dropped a tea bag into a mug then added boiling water. He wanted to savor the last few moments of silence in his house before the day started. He added sugar to his tea and slowly stirred it, Sasuke would be around since he was suspended but he would probably just spend most of the day in the basement. He scowled, Madara concerned him. He always had something up his sleeve, some little tidbit of knowledge or plan and now that he'd seen Itachi he might start something. He'd always had a feeling that if Madara had ever seen his eldest he would become obsessed. He couldn't deny that Itachi had skill, he was even able to master his new eyes mostly on his own, and if he wasn't so riddled with weaknesses and worthless philosophies he might have made a decent head of the family. He saw Itachi twitch.

"Madara!" Itachi's eyes snapped open.

Fugaku raised an eyebrow and frowned. It wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear his son say. "Fortunately not." He calmly sipped his tea, "clean yourself up and get dressed. You're coming to the office with me today and it would be best if you weren't covered in blood."

Itachi blinked a few times trying to figure out what was going on. He glanced down at his shirt and saw dried blood all over the front of it, "Oh… I…"

"Shower quickly. I'm leaving in 30 minutes." Fugaku interrupted placing a new mug of tea in Itachi's hand then he headed out the door.

There was a swish and a thump as the door closed behind Fugaku. Itachi sighed and stood up slowly, he hadn't realized what a mess he looked like. Of course, going in to the office made him groan. Nothing like spending an entire day in a dark drab building doing some tedious small job for hours alone with his father. But what else was there? He downed the tea in one gulp, enjoying the stinging burn of boiling water traveling down his esophagus. On any other day he would flinch and recoil but he didn't care enough anymore: pain was normal, even from things you loved.

He put the mug on the counter and left the kitchen. He was sore all over and had a pounding headache. He grabbed a towel from the closet and was about to enter the bathroom when the door to Madara's room opened and his great uncle stepped out. Itachi moved a little quicker to avoid him but didn't make it in time.

"Good morning lap dog. Get a good sleep? All ready for another day of jumping through hoops?" Madara smirked.

Itachi scowled, clenching his jaw. The words stung. He started remembering his conversation with Madara that night. He stepped quickly into the bathroom and locked the door. He breathed a sigh of relief, at least he couldn't be bothered in here. He turned the water on in the shower then started peeling off his stained clothes. He paused to examine his shirt: it was surprising how much blood was dried on it. He threw it on the ground with his other clothes.

He paused before stepping into the shower, his eyes were stuck on the mirror where he could see his own reflection. He was shocked: black and purple bruises covered his ribs and there was a dark green-yellow bruise under his eye where the skin was broken and a scab had formed in the center. He tore his eyes away and stepped under the stream of hot water, wincing as the drops hit his latest bruises.

Lately it had been one fight after another with no chance for him to heal or even take a breath. It was supposed to be getting better wasn't it? Wasn't he doing what his father wanted? Shouldn't he be able to sleep? When would he stop getting haunted with nightmares? His mind drifted Madara. He'd made some sort of cease fire with his father but now Madara had decided it was his turn to beat him down. Why couldn't he just be left alone? He scowled, it was bad enough knowing he'd agreed to be part of the "family business" at the risk of the only person who'd wanted to help him. No, he paused, Minato wasn't the only one… he turned the water off and grabbed his towel. He couldn't bear to think of that name.

He wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out of the shower. He grabbed a tube of antibiotic and put a small amount on the bruise under his eye and put a band aid over it. the memory of Minato anxiously sticking band aids on him was still fresh in his mind and just thinking about it made his heart ache.

Orochimaru wanted to help you too. He couldn't push the thought away anymore. No! He growled at his own reflection in the mirror. Whatever that snake thought he was doing it would have never helped. All he'd wanted was a research project, something to study and learn about so he could steal it.

Itachi picked up his dirty clothes and moved to leave the bathroom, he paused and glanced in the mirror one more time. He looked at his damp tangled hair. He clenched his jaw and left the room without looking back.

He walked to his room and changed into clean clothes: his regular black jeans and a red t-shirt with a black zip-up sweatshirt over it. He pulled his hair back into its regular low ponytail. He sighed, grabbed his backpack and headed for the hall. He stepped out of his room cautiously, not wanting to bump into Madara again especially if he already had to spend the rest of his day with his father.

He walked quietly down the hall past Sasuke's room, past his parent's room. Past the kitchen, until he ended up at the front door. It was like he was floating. Just going through the motions.

"Took you long enough." Fugaku frowned, "Let's go." He headed out the front door.

Itachi nodded and followed his father outside, it was the rough beginning of what looked to be a really long day. He stopped by the car door then noticed that his father kept going. Itachi gave him a questioning look.

"Let's walk." Fugaku said and started down the sidewalk.

Itachi sighed then jogged to catch up to his father. He didn't see the point in making the awkward trip any longer than it had to be.

They walked in silence for a while, past Minato's house and past the middle school. "How are you feeling?" Fugaku asked.

"fine." Itachi replied automatically.

"Itachi, what did Madara talk to you about." Fugaku didn't even look at his son, just kept staring straight ahead.

"Nothing." Itachi glanced sideways then continued to look straight.

"I know he said something to you last night. He finally got what he wanted and I want to know what his plan is." he stopped and turned to face Itachi.

He's suspicious. Of course. "He doesn't make much sense, just a bunch of stuff about being wronged by the family and how he finally saw me fighting." Itachi answered in a monotone. "He's… he just says nonsensical things."

Fugaku nodded and kept walking, it sounded harmless enough. He noticed that Itachi hadn't moved, "get moving, we have a long day ahead." He said.

"You're scared of him." Itachi saw his father stand still, "you think he's going to take back what he thinks he deserves."

"I told you to keep moving." Fugaku said in a growl, then started walking again, "and keep up."

Itachi flinched. He hadn't meant anything by it, it was just an observation. He clenched his jaw and sped up, they had almost arrived.

As they walked up to the front of the building Fugaku paused; he turned and faced Itachi. "Don't you ever think that I can't control my own business." He stepped closer so his face was inches away from Itachi's, "you of all people should know that I am not the kind of man to get out-muscled." He stepped back.

"I didn't mean…" Itachi started then stopped himself, "yes father."

Fugaku half-smirked with satisfaction then turned and entered the building. Itachi sighed and followed him through the door into the dark murky blackness of the Uchiha family business.

.:.

Minato lay on his back staring at the ceiling. He would have to get up soon but he really didn't want to. He had a bad feeling about the day. He rolled over onto his side and smiled at Kushina, her red hair was falling over her face; she looked calm and peaceful in the pale morning light. Minato reached over and held her hand, she was the most beautiful person in the whole world.

Kushina's eyes fluttered open and she saw Minato smiling at her, "you woke me up!" she whispered, smiling back.

"Sorry," Minato paused, "I didn't mean to."

"I think I could forgive you just this once." She laughed then frowned, "you don't look so good, is everything ok?"

Minato glanced away, "today's the last day… I don't think we have enough." He moved closer to Kushina so he could wrap his arms around her. "We were just getting comfortable here."

"It'll be ok!" Kushina hugged him tightly, "I'm sure we'll find a better place. One where Naruto isn't getting in trouble at school and you can find a better job." She smiled, "It's a new beginning!"

"I hope so." Minato answered then kissed his wife on the forehead. He couldn't help but feel that her cheerfulness was a mask. She knew their situation and the possible consequences, but she was smiling at him.

"I should get up." Kushina sighed.

"No, just stay with me a little longer." Minato hugged her tighter, he was comforted by the way she felt in his arms, "we don't have anywhere to be and Naruto is suspended, remember? Let's just stay like this… forever."

As soon as he finished talking, the alarm clock went off. Minato groaned inwardly, he wanted nothing more than to just sit and hold Kushina and wish the rest of the world away.

.:.

Sasuke panted slowly. He had been training with Madara for hours now as punishment for being suspended but today his great uncle was ruthless and mercilessly blocking everything Sasuke could throw at him. Sasuke attacked again but accidently left himself wide open. Madara hit his side and sent him sprawling across the floor.

"If you're going to claim to be such a great fighter then you might want to actually try." Madara taunted, looking bored.

Sasuke growled, "I am a great fighter!" This had been going on for hours and he was getting sick of it.

"Then prove it! Hit me!" Madara yelled. Sasuke tried once more but his attempt was swatted away effortlessly by Madara. "Stop wasting my time!" he walked across the room and knelt down next to Sasuke, "what happened to the crazy strength from before? That curse mark of yours? What, can't use it when you want to?" he laughed.

"No! You think I wanted this!? I wanted strength but instead it burns and eats away at me so it feels like I'm dying!" Sasuke screamed back, "the only reason I have it is because Itachi is too weak!" he grimaced and grabbed his neck as the familiar burning started, "I hate it!" he could feel it spread from his neck to his arm and down his side.

"I don't give a shit if it hurts you!" Madara yelled, "If that's what makes you strong then use it!" he watched Sasuke intently, seeing the cure mark's change come over him.

Sasuke screamed. The blind rage filled him and he could feel himself slipping away, "I hate him!" he yelled and rushed at Madara. He could feel his limbs moving and swinging through space and it was almost as if he could see Madara's attacks coming before they happened.

"Well at least you hate something enough to actually try." Madara's voice echoed somewhere in the back of his mind.

He could've sworn he hit something, but out of nowhere it felt like a ton of bricks hit him in the side of the head and he blacked out.

Sasuke's eyes flicked open and he felt a pounding in his skull. He saw the ceiling tiles and he slowly started to remember what was going on, though he wasn't sure why his body felt like it was on fire.

"I'm not wasting my time with you anymore." Madara's voice came from somewhere to his right.

Sasuke sat up, "what?"

"You heard me. You're too young, too irrational, and quite frankly your brother is far better suited to lead the family than you." Madara scowled, "of course I'll tell your father and save you the embarrassment of admitting your failure to meet my standards."

"What?!" Sasuke snarled, "You think you can just say that to my face without anything happening to you? I beat Itachi, he's weak and disloyal!"

"Don't flatter yourself, he let you win." Madara turned to leave, "maybe in a few years you could lay a finger on me."

Sasuke watched Madara leave. As the door to the basement closed he scowled, "I beat him." He told himself. He screamed in frustration and punched the wall, it felt good to let it out somehow. He needed air, he needed space, and he needed to run.

He walked up the stairs and straight to the front door and put on his sneakers. He pulled open the door and stepped out into the early afternoon sun then frowned and jogged down the steps and down the street. He needed to be anywhere else.

.:.

There was a plunk as another file slid into the drawer. Itachi sighed, he'd been filing for hours now. There was a small room on the third floor of the Uchiha building devoted solely to metal cabinets and shelves all containing the financial records and information for every citizen of Konoha. He'd spent the majority of his day going up to his father's office, grabbing stacks of file folders, and carrying them down two floors to file them away.

It wasn't terrible really, aside from mind-numbingly boring. But boring was better than doing nothing. Another folder plunked down into the metal drawer. It was a weird sensation to be surrounded by all the people of Konoha, their history with the Uchiha, and any other useful information about them. He had noticed, however, one folder was missing: the folder for Minato Uzumaki.

He finished the stack of folders he was holding and slammed the drawer closed. He leaned back against the wall and slid down until he was sitting. His mind went back to Madara: if his father wasn't there what would he do? Would he leave Konoha? Would he go back to school? What did he know about a life that wasn't filled with pain, terror, and obedience? All I am is a pawn, he thought, an easily manipulated pawn.

The sound of a door being flung open made him jump and yanked him away from his thoughts. He quickly stood up, feeling guilty for sitting down instead of working. He looked up expecting to see his father's face. Instead, he saw a familiar pair of bright blue eyes.

"Itachi? Why are you here?" Deidara asked.

"I'm filing." Itachi replied, unsure of what to do in the situation. He hadn't seen Deidara since the night in his father's office.

"Gee. No kidding. I can see that, but why are you here?"

"Because it's what I was doing today…?" Itachi didn't exactly know why he was there either, given that there were plenty of employees that could be doing such a menial task. He sighed and shrugged, if his father was going to drag him into the business then this was a good starting point: part of collection day but not involved enough with collecting that he couldn't be watched. "I haven't seen you around, are you…?"

"Busy." Deidara replied quickly, "I guess the boss thought you were fine so he didn't really need me hanging around. It's for the better though, now I don't have to just follow you all day." He looked away, avoiding eye contact with Itachi. "Truth is, I might be leaving soon."

Itachi raised an eyebrow, people didn't just leave after they started working for the Uchiha. "Really?" He didn't want to sound doubtful but Deidara gave him an annoyed look.

"I was promised a job by someone bigger than this local racket. A job I can progress in." his face changed and he smiled, "you should come. I'm sure he wouldn't be opposed to it."

Itachi blinked. He could feel a lump forming in his throat. Deidara was just another person who would never understand how this worked, he couldn't leave, and he could never leave. "I…" his voice was weak, "I want to stay here. Work for my family… and… finally be where I belong." He said it in almost a whisper, he'd never said it out loud before and he could feel his hands shaking.

"But he could help you!" Deidara gave him a look of disbelief, "you'd rather stay here with people you hate?"

Itachi closed his eyes and set his jaw, stay calm and say what you have to, "this is my home." He opened his eyes and glared at Deidara, "my family is here. My reason for being alive is to protect my family and what they stand for. If you think that working for some stranger is better than to guard what you hold precious then it's a good thing you're leaving because the Uchiha don't need disloyal trash like that." He pushed past Deidara and headed for the door, please don't follow me, he thought, please don't say anything.

"What did you call me?!" Deidara yelled from behind.

Itachi kept walking, ignoring the shouts and the insults being hurled at him. He was an Uchiha, he couldn't allow himself to have friends anymore. His first one wanted to hurt him, his second would be hurt if he saw them, and now his third was going to leave. Madara had been right, he was just a puppet in his father's hands. Strings on his wrists and his ankles and someone else talking through him. His puppet master wanted him to be alone so he was. They wanted him to be cruel so he burned every bridge. They wanted him to be complacent so he didn't complain. He felt a numb tingling in his shoulder reminding him of his past attempts at fighting back. It just wasn't worth it.

He walked up the stairs to the top floor of the building and entered his father's office; it was empty and red sunlight poured in through the glass windows. He hadn't realized how late it was. He walked slowly over and gazed out across the town, the way the sun was setting made it look like the world was on fire. This is my world, this is my home he told himself. He had to believe it; it was the only way he could ever survive. He scowled and walked over to his father's desk, there were no more files around and everything looked neat and orderly. He glanced at the desktop, letting his eyes wander over the surface until they froze on a family photo. It was the same one he'd found in his biology notebook all those months ago: the one from Sasuke's birthday a mere seconds before he'd had an episode.

He looked away quickly, not wanting to remember that day anymore. The red light was starting to fade into inky blackness as the sun set over Konoha. His father must have gone home already so he grabbed his backpack and headed for the stairs. Of course he didn't tell me, I'm just an employee that happens to live in the same house as him, he thought bitterly.

He exited the building as fast as he could, not wanting to run into Deidara by accident. He stepped onto the street just as the last streaks of red disappeared behind the stores and trees and the streetlights flicked on. It was quiet that night, not unusual for collection day of course. Barely anyone left the house since there would be such a large number of Uchiha workers wandering the streets. Itachi sighed and walked back towards his house, at least he could be alone.

He past the middle school and tried to ignore its massive looming presence: the constant reminder of his failure to protect Sasuke. He hated that building. As he walked along the sidewalk he noticed a dark hunched figure walking towards him, probably new in town, he thought. He watched as the figure drew closer and he started to get an odd feeling in his stomach, a familiar twist that only one person could cause. As he passed the stranger he glanced over and caught the faint glow of yellow snake eyes. He blinked. When he opened his eyes the figure was gone. He shook his head, of course I'm going crazy it's only natural.

Itachi continued walking through the neighborhood and slowed down when he came to a familiar white fence. He swallowed hard and tried to make his feet move but he was frozen in place. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "you'll probably never know why but it's not your fault. I can't let him hurt you too." He could feel a tear slide down his face, stop crying, he told himself, it's not worth it. He started to walk again, staring at the ground, trying his best to hold back the flood behind his eyes. Keep moving, keep walking, faster, faster.

It felt like walking into a telephone pole. Out of nowhere Itachi hit something and stumbled backwards. He glanced up, unaware how wrapped up in his own thoughts he'd become. He saw a person, "sorry, I wasn't looking where I was… going…" his voice trailed off as he stared into familiar blue eyes. They looked different now, not filled with happiness like he remembered, but red and puffy.

"Itachi…" Minato stared back at him.

"I have to go." Itachi said quickly, looking down and pushing past Minato.

"Wait! Please!" Minato grabbed his arm as he walked by.

Itachi froze, the all too familiar sensation of someone holding him back making him flinch. "I have to get home." He didn't turn around, ignoring the growing sense of panic in his stomach.

"I need to tell you," Minato held Itachi's arm tighter, "I can't stay here…"

Itachi stopped trying to pull away and whipped around, "what?"

Minato looked at the ground, "it was bound to happen sooner or later, we couldn't afford it. And Naruto is getting in trouble at school and now we are being forced out. I… I don't have anywhere to go…" Minato glanced up, "I guess… this is goodbye."

Itachi stared back in disbelief. He'd never considered this. Of course hurting someone physically was different from squeezing them out of the town. His father hadn't promised that they would stay here. He cursed himself. He'd been stupid, too anxious to think of a good deal.

"I don't know what happened or what I did to make you act so strange, I guess it doesn't matter anymore." Minato laughed bitterly and stared up at the sky. "Naruto doesn't know yet, but we have to leave by tomorrow."

Itachi opened his mouth to respond, then pictured his father. "I can't talk to you." He said stiffly, then he turned away.

"Why?" Minato was still looking at the sky, "Is it because you're upset? Did something happen at home?"

A pain welled up in Itachi's chest but he squeezed his eyes shut, for the second time that day he'd have to walk away from someone he'd called a friend. He took a step away when out of nowhere someone entered the light of streetlamp.

"Oh, Itachi! Tell your dad I have the last of the collection, I know it's a bit late but our car ran into some trouble and I had to walk from across town." The man stopped in front of Itachi then nodded at Minato, "why are you talking to him?"

"I'm not." Itachi's voice was flat and his face expressionless.

"Ah, well, see you around." The man waved and kept walking.

Itachi stayed frozen until the sound of footsteps faded into the distance, he could almost feel the questions oozing out of Minato.

"Your dad?" Minato's voice was quiet.

"I don't have a dad. He's my father." Itachi replied sharply.

"He's… he owns the… your last name… its Uchiha isn't it?" Minato asked calmly, his voice was right behind Itachi.

Itachi turned and faced Minato, "yes, and please if you want to be safe and leave tomorrow then I have to go." He looked pleadingly into his friends eyes.

"Be safe? What's that supposed to mean?" Minato scowled. "Is that a threat?"

"No, it's a warning. Now please, just go back inside." Itachi felt his hands start shaking again.

"Did he threaten you?" Minato clenched his jaw. "Is he… is he using me as leverage?"

"It was the only way I could be sure he wouldn't hurt you!" Itachi stepped back, "you don't understand, you don't know what he's capable of." He started to back away farther, "I had to… he was supposed to leave you alone, I didn't know about the payments!"

"Itachi, wait!" Minato stepped forward and managed to grab Itachi's sleeve before he could get away, "I don't care."

"I don't know what he'll do but you just have to go!" Itachi tried to shake off Minato's hand, starting to panic. He couldn't think straight, he just wanted to leave.

"I don't care!" Minato shouted. "At this point, I have nothing to lose."

"Just let me go and you can start new somewhere else and you can forget about Konoha and the Uchiha and… just forget about me." Itachi tore his sleeve away from Minato. He could feel the tears streaming down his face now, he didn't want Minato to leave, he didn't want to be alone again.

"Please, just come and say goodbye to Kushina and Naruto. They're going to miss you, we're all going to miss you." He paused, "I don't care if your father hates it, he won't ever have to think about me again, but he can't hurt me if I'm not here."

Itachi looked away and took a step in the opposite direction of Minato, "just tell them I said goodbye."

"Dad, I heard yelling. Are you ok?" A small voice came from behind Itachi and he froze.

"I'm fine Naruto."

There was a pause then Itachi heard footsteps, "Itachi? Did you come to play video games with me?"

"Naruto, Itachi can't stay. But you should hug him goodbye." Minato's voice was serious.

"Why can't he stay?"

"He's busy. Now say goodbye and go back inside."

Itachi felt his heart grow heavy, this wasn't what he wanted. This hadn't been part of his plan. How could he have been so stupid? He turned around and looked at Naruto who was walking towards him. "Goodbye Naruto." He said quietly, letting the kid wrap his arm around his waist. He hugged Naruto back thinking of how Sasuke used to do the same thing.

He felt Minato's hand on his shoulder and their eyes met. He felt queasy, this wasn't safe, and this couldn't happen, he couldn't be here. There would be consequences. The queasiness started to build into nausea. He could feel himself start to sweat. Minato looked concerned. Of course he would have to throw up now, right when he didn't want to. He heard his heart thumping and it felt like it was making his entire body shake. Something felt different this time, it wasn't the usual feeling that came with the vomiting. His head started to feel light and he blinked a few times.

"Itachi, you don't look ok." Minato's voice sounded very far away.

"Can't… stand…." Itachi felt his muscles give way. He could feel himself floating as his eyes closed, then pain and everything went black.

He felt like he was floating in inky blackness. There was no up or down or right and left. There was silence and an odd chill that made his joints ache. Itachi tried to move through it, to push it to the side and look for something, anything. But he was alone. He felt something drip onto his arm. It started slow then got heavier as time went on, it was sticky and it smelled odd but it was so dark that he couldn't see what it was. He could only feel it hitting his skin, soaking into his clothes, and dripping off his hair.

A light appeared in the corner of his vision, at first it was just a small pinprick but then it started to grow larger and brighter until it was too overwhelming to look at. He didn't want to close his eyes, but the light was already starting to make them water. He squeezed his eyes shut covering them with his hands to block out the harsh whiteness. Then it disappeared.

Itachi slowly opened his eyes. He was looking up at a white ceiling that was slightly yellow with age. He could smell faint traces of iron in his nostrils and he shuddered.

"Dad, he's awake!" a small voice to his side made him jump.

"Naruto… am I… in your house?" he asked, his voice was hoarse.

"You fell over and wouldn't get up. What else were we supposed to do?" Naruto looked at him with the same friendly blue eyes that Minato had.

"I have to go." Itachi tried to sit up but got dizzy and fell back down.

"Slow down, you can leave as soon as you can stand without help." Minato looked down, concerned. "Have you eaten anything today? Do you need food?"

Itachi shook his head, breakfast had been a long time ago. "I'll be fine. I just need to get home."

"When you can walk." Minato laughed. There was a sound from the front of the house and he frowned, "I should go see if Kushina needs anything. We have… a lot of packing to do…" then he left the doorway and disappeared down the hall.

"Why do you have to leave so soon?" Naruto asked, looking up into Itachi's eyes.

He didn't answer right away, how much could he expect a kid to understand? "My father said I couldn't see you anymore." he replied quietly, "and I have to listen to him or he'll hurt me." He couldn't bear to say that his father would actually hurt Naruto, not to his face.

"Why does your dad hurt you?" Naruto looked confused.

Itachi blinked a few times, trying not to react strongly, "because he thinks it's the only way he can control people." Then he reached over and put a hand on Naruto's head, "don't worry about it, your dad will never hurt you. He's too good a person."

"Is that why Sasuke hurts people?"

The question stung. "Yeah, I guess it is." he sighed and stood up slowly, he was still a bit lightheaded but he'd make himself walk. As he headed down the hallway he heard the front door open. Curious he paused to listen. The voices were quiet but sounded serious. Out of nowhere they got louder. Itachi frowned, what was happening?

"Kushina!" there was a soft popping sound and a scream.

Itachi froze. There were footsteps behind him as Naruto came running down the hall, curious about the outburst. Itachi grabbed him and held him back, pressing him against the wall and covering his mouth so he wouldn't scream.

There was another pop and a thump as a body fell to the floor. Itachi held Naruto tighter, this wasn't happening. It couldn't be.

"Think there's any more of them?" a deep raspy voice asked.

"Nah, this should be enough. That's all he wanted us to do." A second voice replied. There were footsteps and the door slammed shut.

Itachi stayed frozen for another minute, still holding a struggling Naruto. He didn't want to look, he didn't want to see it. Not with Naruto, not with a kid there. He started breathing faster, his heart pounding in his chest. Have to move. Have to do something. He loosened his grip on Naruto and felt him tear away, running for the living room. Itachi stayed still. He waited and listened.

"Mom? Dad? MOM! DAD!" Naruto shrieked. There was a loud wail then crying.

Itachi closed his eyes and entered the living room. He smelled red. When he opened his eyes he saw red. Red on the walls, red on the floor. Red all over his friend. Minato was holding his chest as blood poured out soaking his shirt. He held Kushina's head in his lap and was stroking her hair. Itachi felt like a stranger, he didn't belong here, it was his fault it had happened, his fault.

"Naruto…" Minato coughed and blood sprayed from his lips, "don't look." He coughed again, "I love you," he looked up at his son who was kneeling next to him and smiled, "I love you more than anything." He reached over and touched his son's face, smearing blood on his son's forehead.

Naruto fell forward and hugged his dad, "I love you, and I don't care what you look like!"

Minato coughed again, then his eyes locked with Itachi's, "take care of him for me." He whispered, then he coughed again. He gazed down at Kushina and gently kissed her forehead, "we have forever now." His voice was barely audible, "I can hold you forever and we can stay just like this." A tear fell from his eyes and he looked into Kushina's face, "forever my love. Forever." His voice trailed off and his arm fell to the floor.

Itachi stared down at the scene, his mouth slightly open, trying to process. He could feel his limbs tingling as if blood wasn't reaching his fingertips. How had he known so fast? Why did he do it? Itachi shoved the thoughts to the side, he had to do something. He couldn't leave Naruto alone. "N-Naruto…" he started, trying to keep his voice steady. "We have to leave." He tried to think of what he should do, where could he take Naruto? He couldn't bring him home, that was a given.

"No!" Naruto screamed between sobs, "I'm not leaving them!"

Not knowing what to do next, Itachi went back down the hall and grabbed his backpack which Minato had left next to the bed he'd been lying on. He went into Naruto's room and started filling it with clothes and anything he could find. After it was full he crossed the hall and peeked around the door, he saw Minato's room and a pile of clothes on the bed. He went over and pulled a green and white flannel shirt out then went back to the living room.

Naruto was still crying and now blood was soaking through the knees of his jeans and smeared on his shirt. Itachi swallowed and pulled Naruto's arms through the sleeves on the flannel. He knelt down and started to do the buttons up the front of the shirt, remembering back when Minato had helped him almost the exact same way. He could feel his knees getting wet. He stood up and pulled the backpack on, adrenaline helping him stay on his feet. "Naruto, we have to go now." He said quietly.

Naruto wiped his nose on the back of his hand, "I'm not leaving them alone!"

"I can take you to a friend's house, you can stay there for a bit but we have to go now." Itachi kept his voice steady, he had to stay calm, for Naruto's sake.

"I need them…" tears welled up in Naruto's eyes again, "I need a mom and a dad."

Itachi took Naruto's hand, "you're going somewhere safe, ok?" then he gently tugged Naruto toward the door, leading him outside into the night.

.:.

Mikoto paused after stretching her arms, "you keep checking your watch. Is everything ok?" she tilted her head to side and looked at Fugaku.

"It's late. He should have been home a while ago." Fugaku grunted then shook his head, "you ready?" it had been a while since he'd had time to be with Mikoto while she exercised and trained. No one expected her to ever have to fight anyone, but Fugaku felt more relaxed knowing that she could defend herself should anything happen to him.

Mikoto nodded and smiled, "He'll be fine. He's probably just walking home slowly like he normally does."

"I don't like it." Fugaku frowned and held the punching bag still for his wife.

"It could be worse." Mikoto said between punches, "he could be running around with Madara or not here at all."

"It's supposed to be better. He swore that he would work for the family, do anything I said. He finally came around to see the right point of view."

"It's not going to happen all at once, give him time to adjust." Mikoto paused, "and Sasuke…"

Fugaku scowled, "I'm trying not to think about that right now. I can only handle so much disappointment for one day." He sighed, "The bad part of the whole situation is that it's true. I would much rather Itachi be the one who ran the family. Madara guessed it probably, I don't know why he cares so much, but he's not making it any easier to get Itachi in line."

Mikoto smiled, "don't worry about it for a few days. You'll be busy at work and have other things on your mind." She started kicking the punching bag.

Fugaku smiled at her, "of course."

They continued in silence: Mikoto going through her stretches and sets of kicks and punches while Fugaku watched and helped. It was something they had been doing together since before they were married, it was more comfortable for them to enjoy the silence and just spend time together not thinking about work or family, just each other.

The door to the basement flung open. Fugaku glanced over and saw Itachi in the doorway: there was dried blood on his knees and smeared across his face. He was shaking visibly and had an expression that Fugaku had never seen before.

Itachi glared across the room. "Y-You had no right!" he yelled. He clenched his jaw and balled his hands into fists.

Fugaku raised an eyebrow, "I had to get home, I figured you could at least walk back without a chaperone, I guess I was wrong."

"What did I do? Tell me!" Itachi screamed frozen in the doorway, "I did what you asked! I almost killed my little brother for you!"

"What are you talking about?" Fugaku faced Itachi, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Madara was right, all you do is lie!" Itachi could feel himself start to shake more, partly from adrenaline and partly from anger. "I'm sick of it!"

"So you were talking with him." Fugaku scowled and snorted, "I should have figured."

"Just tell me what I did wrong! Why did you do it!?" Itachi was starting to get frustrated. "I did everything you wanted!"

"Why is there blood on you?" Fugaku asked, eyeing the dried marks suspiciously.

"Like you don't know!" Itachi yelled back, he couldn't stop himself, "you killed them!" then he ran and slammed his entire body weight into his father knocking them both to the ground.

Fugaku was caught off guard. He felt himself hit the floor and the breath leave his lungs. He quickly oriented himself and threw Itachi off. "What the hell." He picked himself up just in time to see Itachi rushing in again. This time he was ready and evaded it easily.

Itachi panted but kept attacking, he sprinted forward and tackled his father to the ground. They struggled both trying to pin the other down. Itachi ended up kicking himself just out of Fugaku's grasp and picking himself up off the floor.

"Stop it!" Mikoto cut in, "Itachi you need to calm down." She'd seen them fight before, but something about this time felt different and it was making her nervous.

"No!" Itachi coughed, "I'm tired of being calm. I'm tired being the one that's wrong!" he pointed at Fugkau, "you lied to me! You went behind my back. Yeah, sure you think I'm easy to manipulate and maybe I was. But I've lost everything now! You killed your own leverage, dad." He spit out the last word like it tasted bad just to say.

"You're crazy and over tired. Just go sleep it off and stop being overdramatic." Fugaku yelled from across the basement.

"They were my friends!" Itachi slammed a fist into the wall behind him, "I'd choose them over this shitty family any day."

Fugaku glowered, "fine. Have it your way." then he attacked. He sprinted and landed a kick in the center of Itachi's chest sending him into the wall, he followed it with a knee to the stomach and he looked down at his son doubled over. "Just remember that you're stuck with this shitty family whether you like it or not."

Itachi screamed and pushed himself forward toppling them both to the ground again. He ignored the pain knotting inside his stomach and managed to get one of Fugaku's arms pinned down but soon lost control and ended up with his father holding his arms down to the floor. He struggled against it but couldn't find any weakness to exploit.

"This family is all you have. You don't have friends and I can make sure you never do. If you ever try something like this again I will rip your arm off entirely." Fugaku stood up and walked toward the basement door leaving Itachi lying on the ground.

"No." Itachi wheezed, "I have more than this." He slowly picked himself up. He breathed in and ran at Fugaku from behind. It happened so quickly he never saw it coming. He aimed the punch perfectly, straight for the base of the neck. It was too perfect. There was a sickening crack, a scream, and the sound of dead weight hitting the floor.

Itachi froze. His eyes widened in horror as he looked at what he'd done. Then his eyes shifted upwards until they were staring into two burning red irises. They both stood there, still absorbing what happened.

"What. Did. You. Do." Fugaku's voice was deep and menacing as he glared at his son.

"I-I d-didn't see her… she came out of nowhere I…" Itachi stammered, he could feel the anger emanating from his father. "I'm sorry! I couldn't stop in time!" he glanced back down at his mother's unmoving body, "mom… why?!"

"How dare you call her your mother." Fugaku slowly walked forward, getting closer to Itachi with every step.

Itachi started backing away, "I'm sorry! I didn't see her! She stepped between us and I couldn't stop!" his back hit the wall and he wished he could melt through it.

Fugaku stopped in front of Itachi, their eyes met briefly and for a moment neither of them moved. Then Fugaku grabbed the front of Itachi's sweatshirt, "you're dead to me." He growled through clenched teeth. He punched Itachi in the side of the head and let go watching his son slide to the ground and lay there stunned.

Itachi blinked, his head was ringing and the room was doing circles. He had to regain control, if he didn't he would be killed. The constant spinning was making him nauseated and he could feel his body preparing to vomit. Not now, no. but he couldn't stop it. He rolled over and dry-heaved, coughing up whatever was left in his stomach.

"You're pathetic." Fugaku said staring down at Itachi, "I almost trusted you with the family. I'll never make that mistake again." Then he kicked.

Itachi felt himself roll across the floor boards, "I'm sorry…" he managed to get out between gasping breaths. "You think I did it on purpose? She was my mom! She was the only person in this house that cared about me!" his adrenaline was starting to kick in again and he picked himself up.

"You're lucky you had that!" Fugaku yelled. "You put someone else over your family, you left, you put some psycho over my family and expect to get pity?" he laughed, cold and menacing. "Maybe you didn't learn your lesson the first time." He strode over grabbed Itachi by the throat slamming him into the wall, "maybe you could you use a little reminder about why you put family first?"

Itachi shook his head as best as he could but with a hand clamped on his throat he couldn't move very much or speak to answer. He knew what it was. He could still feel it: a lesson he'd never forget. The same terror gripped him that he'd felt when he was younger.

Fugaku's face was stony and cold. He kept one hand securely around Itachi's throat and brought the other hand up, tracing the scars on Itachi's face. "Who knew you would forget so fast." He growled.

"No!" Itachi managed to scream then felt the hand close tighter. His vision was starting to blur from lack of oxygen and black was beginning to creep into the corners of his eyes. He started to kick wildly and pull away. He somehow managed to reach forward enough and pull Fugaku's hair, loosening the grip just enough to escape. He fell against the wall gasping for breath and shaking, the memory of his scars bouncing around in his skull. He coughed, this time a spray of blood hit the wall and his throat burned.

Fugaku yelled and grabbed Itachi from behind, twisting his bad arm behind his back and forcing him to his knees, "she may have been your mother, but she was my wife!" He yelled, "You deserve all the pain you're going through but you will never be able to payback for what you did!" he twisted the arm harder and started pushing Itachi down.

Itachi struggled under the pressure, he had to get up. He had to fight back. Or did he? He let himself go limp and Fugaku pinned him to the ground again. "I do." He coughed, "I deserve it." he flinched as his father pressed harder, "but you know what? I've run out of things to fight for." Tears slipped out of his eyes and mingled with the puddles of blood on the basement floor. "Go ahead, kill me."

Fugaku was silent, then he pulled his arm back and punched. The floorboards cracked just inches away from Itachi's head. Fugaku frowned and their red eyes met.

Almost like lightning Itachi yanked himself free and rolled away across the room, his mind may have been ready to give up but his instincts had kicked in activating his sharingan. Everything was clear all of a sudden, he could see moves before they happened. And even though his father rushed at him with a flurry of attacks he was able to dodge them all.

Itachi attacked, "She cared about me! She protected me from you!" tears were still running down his face as he hit.

Fugaku managed to grab his elbow and throw him down again. This time Itachi was ready. He struggled and they rolled across the floor locked together both trying to get the upper hand, "She was the only reason growing up in this hell hole was bearable!" he caught one of his father's arms and bent it backwards, "you're a monster! You've turned Sasuke into a monster! And now you've turned me into one!"

They broke apart briefly, both panting, "Oh you did that yourself." Fugaku laughed, you aimed that killing strike at me and you knew exactly what you were doing."

Itachi yelled and threw himself once more at his father. They hit the ground but this time Itachi managed to land on top and pin Fugaku's arms down. "I never wanted to be this! I never wanted to know what I know now! I never wanted any of this!" he started punching blindly. He could feel flesh tearing under his knuckles and could hear the cracking of bones. "I hate you! I hate everything about you! I hate you!" with one last shout he hit Fugaku's jaw from underneath and felt his head loll to the side.

He blinked through his tears and stopped. He fell to the side, coughing and vomiting. His whole body was shaking and he could feel every bruise and bloody spot. He lay still, trying to regain control. The tears wouldn't stop and he lay on the floor in a pool of his parent's blood mixed with his own tears. The smell of iron was overwhelming and his hair was covered in sweat and blood. He only had one thought clanging around inside his head: murderer.


	12. Chapter 12

Sasuke stood outside the house. He was panting and shaking, still angry from before and exhausted from the four mile sprint he'd just finished. He didn't want to go inside, he didn't want to have to see the disappointment in his dad's face, and definitely didn't want to see Itachi.

He felt sweat roll down his arms and he felt the wind pick up making him shiver. For an early April evening it was cold. He'd have to go inside; he'd already missed out on dinner and if he was lucky then his dad and Itachi would already be in the basement. He glanced at a window in the foundation of the house and saw the light was on, at least I won't have to worry about them until later, he thought.

Sasuke scowled and walked up to the door, he hoped Madara wasn't there. It was embarrassing to be rejected by someone who was called specifically to train you. I'm not weak, he glowered, and I'm stronger and better than Itachi. He yanked the door open letting it bang against the porch railing the loud noise making him feel a little less anxious.

As he stepped inside he was caught off guard by how quiet it was. It wasn't just quiet, though. It was dead silent. Some of the lights were on but no one was around. Sasuke started to get the eerie sense that something was wrong.

He walked over to the kitchen and peeked through the door: everything was all washed and put away and the light was off. There was a mug on the counter and the tin of black tea was next to it. That was normal, his dad liked to have tea after training every night. Sasuke backed out slowly, everything looked normal, why did he feel so wary? He shook his head and went to his room to change clothes. He pulled on a t-shirt and jeans leaving his sweaty exercise clothes on the floor.

He couldn't shake the uneasiness in the back of his mind and went to check the Livingroom. Everything was in order. He wandered over to the front entryway and glanced around: Itachi's shoes were missing. Maybe he's not home yet, Sasuke thought, but then who was in the basement? It could be both his parents but it was Itachi's time to be training. He paused and listened, no sound was drifting up the stairs: no thumping, screaming, or yelling. It felt almost as if no one was down there.

He crept slowly over to the stairs, feeling the need to move as quietly as possible so as not to disturb the silence of the house. He still couldn't hear anything. He cautiously went down the stairs and stopped just outside of the door. Now he heard coughing, familiar coughing. Sasuke scowled and put his hand on the doorknob but he couldn't turn it. He stayed frozen in place. There was something, something about that room, which made him start to shake.

.:.

Itachi stopped coughing. He thought he heard something by the door. He scrambled to stand up, if Madara walked in and saw what had happened, there was no telling what he would do. He felt his heart thump faster. There was no way he could deny it. His mind raced, Madara was much larger than he was and much stronger. If it came down to a fight he would lose, or worse… he glanced over at the unmoving body of his father. The handle turned slowly and Itachi tensed, getting himself ready for whatever was coming. He scowled as the door swung open. His eyes met Sasuke's.

It took a moment for Sasuke to process what he saw: Itachi was standing between two crumpled figures on the floor. One was his mom, she had blood dripping out of the side of her mouth and she was staring blankly at nothing. The other's face was almost impossible to make out because it was swollen and covered in blood, but he knew it was his dad.

He looked back at Itachi, his eyes widening in disbelief and his hands starting to shake more, "y-you did this…" he managed to get out, his face falling into a scowl. He couldn't bring himself to accept it. Itachi had never gotten along with their dad but he wasn't a killer, he was too weak for that.

Itachi hesitated, he couldn't read Sasuke. "I-it was an accident." He started, trying not to let his voice quiver.

"Bullshit!" Sasuke snarled, "You wanted them dead!" his mind was racing, "Y-you're mad because he said I was gonna be head of the family!"

"That's not it…"

"You and Madara planned this!" Sasuke stepped back out of the room.

"No, Sasuke let me…"

Sasuke's face changed from anger to horror, "No!" he kept backing up and tripped over the stairs, "You're gonna kill me too…"

Itachi froze, he felt weighed down with sadness, had it really come to this? Was Sasuke so far gone that he would actually think that his older brother would kill him? His face was stony and he stepped closer to his little brother, looking down into his terrified eyes, "No. I'm not going to kill you." Sasuke would never forgive him, he would never understand what had happened. The only thing Itachi had left was to play the part that was thrust upon him. "You're not worth my time."

Sasuke stared back into Itachi's unfeeling gaze. The red eyes staring back and taunting him. He tried to move farther back, to put more distance between himself and the unsympathetic stare of the older brother he'd once idolized, but he was still stuck on the stairs.

Itachi kept walking forward. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and bent down so that his face was inches from Sasuke's, "Maybe if you ever get strong enough I'll come back and finish what I started. But right now, you're not a threat to me." He reached forward and flicked Sasuke's forehead making him flinch. Itachi stepped past Sasuke and climbed the stairs leaving behind what was left of the horror he'd known to be a family.

As he walked through the house he didn't look back; it was too painful. He reached the front door when there were footsteps behind him.

"I'm not just gonna let you walk away!" Sasuke's voice was shaking and it pierced Itachi's heart.

Itachi kept walking, out the front door, down the steps, towards the streetlight. Don't follow me, please don't. He heard the footsteps running after him. He stopped and whipped around just in time to see Sasuke throwing himself at him. They collided and fell into the grass of the front yard.

"Murderer!" Sasuke shouted, scrambling back up to attack again.

Itachi didn't say anything. He quickly rolled out of the way and stood up. He kept his face still. He saw Sasuke running in again but this time he stepped to the side and tripped his little brother watching him fall on his face. Wordlessly he knelt down and pinned Sasuke to the ground with one knee. He stared down at his little brother struggling to get up, "forget about me, Sasuke. You'll never be able to beat me."

"I'll never forget!" Sasuke screamed, pushing against the weight pressing into his back. "I'll kill you!"

Itachi squeezed his eyes shut, letting his tears fall into the grass. He was glad it was dark out so Sasuke couldn't see his face. He raised his arm and brought the edge of his hand down quickly onto the back of Sasuke's neck. The struggling stopped.

Itachi carefully removed his knee and flipped Sasuke's limp body over. He saw his little brother's chest rise and fall. He let out a breath relieved; he hadn't wanted to hurt Sasuke. He wished he'd left before Sasuke found out any of this.

Standing up, Itachi looked at Sasuke one final time. He looked so innocent, like he knew nothing about killing or hurting people. He missed that Sasuke. Itachi wiped his eyes and staggered away down the sidewalk. His adrenaline was gone, he was exhausted and he could feel the nausea building in his stomach and he had nowhere to go.

He ended up just wandering through Konoha. There was still no one on the streets. He couldn't see well enough to walk straight and he fell, cutting up his hands and knees. He felt heavy, crushed under an invisible weight pressing down on his shoulders. He had nothing. Everything he had been, everyone he'd known; it was all gone. And the worst part was that it was his fault. If I had been better, if I'd just listened, if I'd just gone with everything from the start… He shook his head.

He screamed, all of his thoughts and emotions were eating him alive. The guilt, the anger, and the sadness. Why do I do everything wrong? He kept walking, kept stumbling forward through the darkness.

He walked into a chain link fence and his sleeve got caught on a loose end. He pulled. The metal tore open his sleeve and sliced a long cut from his elbow to his wrist. He screamed again but kept going forward. He had to get away, he had to leave everything he knew before he destroyed it all.

He ended up in front of an abandoned stairway that descended into darkness, it looked vaguely familiar. He stepped towards it but his foot slipped on a damp step and he fell. He was unconscious before he made it to the bottom of the stairs.

.:.

Kabuto stood in the shadows. He leaned back against a tree and took a long drag on his cigarette. He'd been standing for hours while Orochimaru was inside a random house. He had no idea what Oro wanted in there. It was just a small white house that looked abandoned, of course by now he'd learned not to question Oro's habits or ideas. He glanced over just in time to see the door open and a small figure exited. It looked both ways then crossed the street to where Kabuto was standing. "Well?" he asked.

"They're dead." Orochimaru replied, breathing on his hands to keep them warm.

"That was the family wasn't it?" Kabuto took another drag in and blew smoke into the air around him.

"Yes." Orochimaru frowned, "the child was missing though." He shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Is that bad?" Kabuto glanced down at Orochimaru.

"No, but something about this place feels off. It's so out of nowhere. The Uchiha are an organized crime family, not murderers."

"While you were inside some men walked by, they said things were about to change. There's been rumors of an outside organization taking control going around." Kabuto extinguished his cigarette against the tree he was leaning on.

Orochimaru scowled, "Someone is pulling strings around here. I don't like it." he started to walk down the street, Kabuto quickly following.

They meandered the neighborhoods for a while, it wasn't strange for them to do this: Orochimaru liked to keep an eye on things. Kabuto noticed they were starting to head in a familiar direction.

"Is it a good idea to go so close today?" Kabuto raised an eyebrow.

Orochimaru coughed, "Of course." Then his mouth curved into a grin, "If that family was as close to Itachi as our observations suggest then we might see something… entertaining." His smile faded, I hope he's suffering, Orochimaru thought angrily.

When they reached the home of the Uchiha they noticed something was off right away: the lights were off except for one in the basement and the front door was wide open.

"What happened here?" Kabuto wondered out loud, frowning.

Orochimaru was silent, he stared at the house, trying to imagine what had taken place. As he looked, something caught his attention. He tilted his head to the side and walked forward slowly. As he got closer he saw what it was.

"Sasuke!" He exclaimed and jogged forward. The kid didn't move. He felt a sense of panic, had this child gotten caught in the middle of something? He saw Sasuke's chest rise and fall slightly and Orochimaru breathed a sigh of relief. He knelt down and examined the unconscious child: there were a lot of bruises on his arms and legs but they looked like old ones. He checked the curse mark: it was still there. He noticed a dark purple patch on the back of Sasuke's neck. "Someone knocked him out on purpose." Orochimaru stated, standing up. "Let's check the house."

Kabuto gave him a wary look, "What do you think we'll find?"

"A reason hopefully," Orochimaru walked up to the front door, "a reason why someone would leave a twelve year old kid unconscious in front of a house."

The two entered the small house and started to wander around, looking for a sign of anything that might explain Sasuke's predicament. Kabuto squatted down and examined the floor, "hey Oro, look." He pointed to a trail of dots on the floor boards, "blood stains."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow and started to follow the trail of blood down the stairs. He entered the basement and froze. He felt a chill creep over him: the scene was too close to his parent's deaths for comfort. His hands started shaking. He couldn't move. He just stared down at the two bodies and the pool of blood.

Kabuto came up behind Orochimaru. He saw the terror gripping his friend. He glanced past and saw the scene and shuddered, "come on Oro, let's get out of here." He tapped Orochimaru's shoulder.

Orochimaru flinched then blinked, "What?" he scowled at Kabuto.

"We're leaving." Kabuto said and practically dragged Orochimaru towards the stairs.

They climbed up quickly. Kabuto could tell that Orochimaru was having flashbacks again. The first house they'd stopped at didn't cause any reaction, but seeing this must have hit somewhere closer to his friend's heart.

As they left the blackened house, Orochimaru started to laugh, "My parent's deaths have been avenged. I should be happy." He looked up at Kabuto, his eyes were large and scared but he was smiling. "I don't have to go on like this anymore."

Kabuto looked down into Oro's wide green eyes, "You could end this. It's all over now."

Orochimaru scowled suddenly. "No." he hissed, "It's not over until they're all dead."

"You know he had nothing to do with it, Oro."

"It wasn't the act of a single person that made me suffer all those years!" Orochimaru snarled at Kabuto, "It was a whole family, so now the whole family has to pay!" He whipped around and stumbled towards the sidewalk. Kabuto watched him walk away then stop in front of the crumpled figure of Sasuke. He stood there for a long time staring down at the child. "Bring him with us." Orochimaru said, "We're leaving."

Kabuto hesitated, "We can't just take a kid."

"No one will miss him." Orochimaru interrupted, "He was going to join use eventually. That time just came sooner." Then Orochimaru turned and walked down the sidewalk.

Kabuto sighed and walked over to where Sasuke was, gently picking him up and following Orochimaru. It felt wrong. Everything felt wrong. He wondered where Itachi was and what he would do once he found out that Orochimaru had kidnapped his little brother.

.:.

He didn't want to open his eyes. He could already feel his body aching and there were sharp stabbing pains every time he took a breath. There was something wet hitting his face, which was what had woken him up in the first place. He knew he wasn't at home but he wasn't sure why. He knew he was sad and angry but he couldn't remember what caused it.

Itachi opened his eyes slowly, not wanting the light from the day to filter through his lashes even though it was starting to already. When his eyes were open all the way he just stared at the concrete ceiling. It was covered in moss and mildew and condensation was dripping off of it.

Itachi didn't move; everything hurt. He tried to move his fingertips slowly. One of his thumbs was throbbing. He tried his toes next and aside from a sore ache they seemed to be fine. His head pounded. I have to get up, he thought. He had a feeling of urgency that he couldn't explain, something inside him that needed to be moving and keep his mind busy instead of remembering…

Everything came crashing back into his skull all at once. I'm a murderer now, he thought, a worthless murderer. He could hear Sasuke's voice echoing around in his head: kill…never forget…murderer. No, Itachi scowled, it was a life for a life. His father had Minato and Kushina killed and vengeance was needed. It made sense. His scowl faded into a blank expression, if I'm willing to stoop to his level then I'm no better than he is.

Itachi rolled onto his side. There was an explosion of sharp stabbing pains from his ribs. He managed to get onto his stomach and tried to push himself up but his arms couldn't manage the weight. He grit his teeth and pushed harder until he was sitting up. He felt something roll down his arm. He looked down and saw the torn open sleeve and the long cut. The movement had re-opened the scab and blood was flowing out of it once again.

Cautiously, he raised his shirt to look at his sides, he already knew what bruised ribs felt like but this was worse. He glanced down: there was dark purple and black down both sides of his torso and the skin was broken in a few places. Why am I still alive, he wondered then dropped his shirt back down and shivered.

Itachi glanced around, he wasn't exactly sure where he was but something looked vaguely familiar. He was at the bottom of a flight of concrete stairs. He could see a gray streaky sky at the top and the steps themselves were damp like it had been raining. He stared up at the sky from the bottom of his cold dark pit. Should I just stay here? I'll die eventually and no one will ever know. He let the thought play around in his mind. It was what he deserved: if death was only repaid with death then the only way to balance off his actions was to die himself.

Except Sasuke. His little brother's face filled his mind making him flinch at the memory. He said he would kill me, Itachi thought, he said he would never forget. I deserve to die. I have to die. Itachi's head started throbbing and his eyes widened as his gaze drifted downwards. He felt himself start to shake and his breathing got faster. No. no. no! He grabbed his face and realized he was crying.

He paused, there was something inside him, something in his chest that tightened. He couldn't just stay here. As much as he could mentally justify why he should remain in the cold concrete darkness until he disappeared from everything, he couldn't do it. He felt a pull to go up the stairs and to reach for the light filtering through the clouds. Sasuke was still alive somewhere and he was alone. Itachi knew he could never go back to being the older brother he used to be but he could still protect Sasuke from Orochimaru, even if it was from a distance.

Itachi tried to stand up. The pain in his ribs made him fall back onto his knees. He tried again. It took him a few attempts but he managed to get on his feet and stagger towards the stairs. As he climbed upwards he leaned against the wall. After about twenty minutes of climbing and clawing at the mold-covered walls he emerged into a large open space surrounded with tall buildings. As soon as he saw the empty lot he knew exactly why it looked familiar. He never thought he'd end up at the abandoned apartments, of all the places in Konoha. He turned toward the entrance, he didn't want to be here. He wanted to be anywhere else.

He wandered to the edge Konoha. There wasn't another town for a few miles and the only thing in between was large expanses of grass and small patches of woods. A few cars had gone by but no one had stopped to ask him if he was ok. Most people who lived around there were too afraid of accidently getting involved with the Uchiha to help people. Except Minato, Itachi thought as he slowly walked forward. Minato hadn't cared. Even when he hadn't known who he was Minato had been ready to drop everything and help a total stranger.

The Konoha cemetery was just outside of the town. As Itachi walked by he saw a group of people standing, some with black umbrellas and some in long black rain coats. It started drizzling again, slowly soaking Itachi's sweatshirt and flattening his messy hair against his forehead. Itachi paused and watched the group as they slowly dispersed. He couldn't imagine that anyone had paid for a funeral for Minato and Kushina. Even still he stumbled towards the spot with the faint hope that he could say one final goodbye to his last friend.

As he neared, he noticed people giving him odd looks: stray glances and concerned expressions drifted past him but no one tried to say anything. He knew he looked awful, but somehow he didn't think that was what the looks were for. He reached the spot just as the last few people disappeared. He looked down and scowled. Somehow it just seemed wrong that his parents shared a headstone.

The words were ugly. The grave was ugly. Everything about it made Itachi want to vomit; or maybe it was seeing the words "A beloved father and man" underneath Fugaku's name. Itachi kicked the fresh dirt on the grave. He felt a new rage starting to seep into his veins, even after his father was dead he still managed piss him off.

"I can't believe I ever called you 'dad'." He said aloud. "I can't believe I ever said I loved you." Itachi's hands started to shake, "maybe it started out ok, but I don't care." His face stayed stony and cold as the drizzle turned into rain. "I'm glad you're gone and I don't have to think about where you'll hurt me next. Though it's not like I'll ever get the chance to forget." He unconsciously traced the scars on his face.

His knees were starting to get weak and now he could feel his stomach getting ready to spew out whatever it held. He felt himself sway and fall forward onto his hands and knees. His whole body was shaking now as he stared into the carved letters of his father's name. He tried to throw up but instead there was a familiar burning sensation in his throat followed by blood. Tears streamed down his face from the pain piercing his sides and traveling down his esophagus and he could feel himself starting to sweat regardless of the cold weather and the downpour.

"Is this what you wanted you bastard?!" he yelled, seeing a spray of blood hit the gravestone. "Look at what you made! This is the legacy of the Uchiha: blood, pain, and hatred!" What kind of loving parent wishes that on their kid?!" he felt more tears streaming down his face. "I'll never forgive you for what you did to me! For what you did to Sasuke or to Minato and Orochimaru!" he coughed then leaned back and stared at the head stone.

"I hate you." He whispered. "I hate you." He felt the anger boiling in his veins now, "I hate you!" he screamed and punched his father's name. Pain erupted in his knuckles immediately but he didn't care. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" he screamed over and over again, punching the headstone repeatedly.

There was another pain in his stomach and he tried to vomit again, this time he was too weak to even stay on is hands and knees. He collapsed and lay on his side coughing and wheezing. His eyelids started to grow heavy and blackness filled the corners of his vision. The last thing he saw was the blood splattered words "beloved father".

The rain poured down turning the freshly dug grave into mud. The blood dripped from Itachi's hands and mingled with the dark murky dirt. Soon Itachi was camouflaged in red, brown, and black; blending into the landscape of Konoha, a place he couldn't escape.


	13. Unseasonably Warm

*author's note! Hello =) thank you for reading my story! I love getting to read all of your comments and reactions! So, this chapter is a little different, it's a bit of a filler mostly because I wrote it a while ago and I haven't had time to continue the actual story because of school. but I do have a short little throwback for you guys and hopefully more of them if you like it. don't worry the story will continue! I have a lot of plans and outlines that I want to write down. Thanks again for reading and leaving comments!*

Hidan felt his eyes growing heavy. Sociology was pretty interesting but his professor was boring as hell. There was ten minutes left in class and then he could sleep and skate and whatever he wanted. He checked his phone; nine minutes.

He let his mind wander, he thought about Anko. She was cute. Actually, she was really pretty and it felt amazing when they hung out. She seemed really chill and it looked like she thought his friends were cool, which was really important. Of course, his friends weren't exactly the hardest to get along with: Oro and Itachi pretty much would only do school work and read. A little boring, he thought.

"Don't forget that your annotated bibliographies are due next class." His professor finished up.

He jumped up and shoved a notebook and pen into his bag, grabbed his board, and almost sprinted for the door. Sweet freedom at last! As soon as he stepped out of the building he threw down his board and pushed off heading for his favorite spot: the old abandoned parking lot. Sometimes Itachi or Oro would be there, there was a good chance they would be today since the weather was so nice.

Hidan hit the "play" button on his phone and sped up. He rounded a corner and looked up a little too late. He saw a foot, then a leg, and before he knew what was happening he slammed full speed into another person.

Hidan felt himself fly through the air momentarily then hit the ground and slide across the pavement. "Ah shit." He swore. His phone was a few feet away. He quickly took stock of himself: scraped hands and a hole in the knee of his left pant leg. It could be worse.

He heard a groan and remembered that he'd hit someone, "dude are you ok? I'm so sorry! I didn't see you coming." He scrambled up and ran over to a guy with longish gray hair and glasses who lay sprawled on the ground.

"I'm fine," he said, picking himself up, "nothing that hasn't happened before." He laughed as he grabbed his backpack that was on the ground nearby.

Hidan felt bad, "are you sure? I can get you some band aids if you want?" He saw the guy had scrapes on the palms of his hands.

"Nah, I'll be fine," He picked up Hidan's phone and tossed it to him, "Just keep your head up."

"Yeah," Hidan laughed. Then he noticed the shoulder of the guy's shirt was torn, "ah bro, sorry about your shirt, that is a sick tattoo though."

"Hm?" the guy looked at his shoulder, "oh, thanks and don't worry about the shirt, its fine."

"Ok, if you say so." Hidan replied. He picked up his board, "well, I gotta go. Sorry again!" he said, then continued down the path, walking this time, just in case.

He neared his skate spot and saw that no one else was there, ah well, he thought it's just as good to listen to music. So he threw in headphones and started to do teach himself a new flat ground trick.

After about thirty minutes of doing this, he felt the strange sensation that someone was watching him. He froze and took out his headphones and looked around. Then he saw a person sitting under a tree furiously writing in a notebook. He squinted and the figure came into focus, a smile spread across his face. "Itachi! Hey!"

Itachi looked up surprised, then waved. He stood and picked up his bag then walked over. "Hey. Sorry if I creeped you out…I didn't want to bother you."

"Nah, its fine! Are you done for today?"

"Yeah, I'm supposed to be meeting Oro here and then getting food, but he's running late."

"What were you writing?" Hidan asked, sitting in the grass next to his bag.

"I was drawing." Itachi replied, sitting next to Hidan.

"Will you ever show anyone?"

"Probably not."

Hidan shrugged, "up to you. Anko just texted, if we hang out here a little longer, then all four of us can grab food together."

Itachi nodded. He stared into space for a few minutes, breathing in the warm early October air.

"How's class going?" Hidan asked.

Itachi shrugged, "pretty good, starting to pick up assignment-wise. Getting swamped with papers mostly."

"Hey, I have a question for you."

"Ok."

"You mentioned a while back that you used to do martial arts stuff for exercise, and I was wandering, if you had time, if you would want to spar?' it's been ages since I've had someone who is actually a challenge to fight with."

Itachi looked at the ground, "I don't know… I don't really do it much anymore. I wouldn't be much of a challenge for you." He started pulling up grass around where he was sitting.

"Ok," Hidan shrugged, "but you'd probably be fine."

Itachi half smiled, "I might, but I kind of stopped a while back, personal reasons I guess."

"Pacifist?"

"More like I would rather I didn't know how to hurt people." Itachi answered quietly.

They were quiet for a few more minutes. Hidan sighed, Itachi was odd. There was something about him that made him look like he could drop everything and beat the crap out of someone, but he was so quiet and gentle even.

His thoughts were interrupted by laughter drifting down the hill. A smile played at he corners of his mouth. He couldn't help it, every time he saw Anko he got really happy. He twisted around and saw Anko and Orochimaru coming down the path and he waved in their direction. Anko looked over and waved back, jogging over with Orochimaru closely behind.

"Hey guys!" She said, breathing heavily.

"Hey," Hidan said and Itachi waved.

"Hey Itachi," Orochimaru said, then threw his stuff down on the ground and sat next to him.

"It's so hot today I can't stand it." Anko announced, picking up Hidan's skateboard and bringing it over to the pavement. "We should do something."

"Like what?" Orochimaru asked, he had pulled a book out of his bag and was scribbling on sticky notes and marking off pages.

"Not study for one." Anko said back.

"Oro, Hidan, and I have a Biology quiz tomorrow, so whatever you want to do can't take up a lot of time." Itachi said, pulling up more grass.

"Let me think about it." Anko replied, then stepped off the board, "I'm hungry, let's get food."

They all got up and started walking back up the path, Anko choosing to walk next to Hidan and Orochimaru and Itachi following behind. As they walked past the pond in the center of campus, Anko leaned over and whispered something in Hidan's ear. He smiled, then stopped walking. Orochimaru didn't notice and walked right into Hidan's back making his book come up and hit him in the face.

"Geez Hidan, you could at least keep moving." He frowned, slightly annoyed.

Hidan turned around grinning and Anko had an odd smile on her face, "I think we should sit here for a while," Anko said innocently.

"I thought you were hungry?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.

"I changed my mind."

Itachi and Orochimaru exchanged looks then sighed and followed Hidan and Anko to a large rock on the edge of the pond and sat down.

"Ok," Hidan started, "we are going to play a game and if you lose you have to take a swim." Hidan pulled a deck of cards out of his bag.

"Are we allowed to do that?" Itachi asked, nervously looking around to see if anyone was watching.

"I don't know." Anko shrugged, "the game is 'go fish'. It's pretty simple and thematically appropriate." As she said this she cracked her knuckles.

Orochimaru rolled his eyes, "I don't have time for this." And he turned to go but Hidan held on to the back of his backpack and pulled him back.

"Nope."

Itachi and Orochimaru exchanged yet another look then joined Anko and Hidan on the rock. This just sounded like a crazy scheme.

The game started out pretty casual, but then as soon as Anko had one card left, the others started to get nervous.

"Hidan, you didn't say that three people could lose at once…" Orochimaru whimpered.

"Well only one person can win, so it makes logical sense." He said, giving Itachi, who had the most cards left, a sideways glance. "Have any kings?"

"Nope." Itachi shook his head. Hidan nervously picked a card from the top of the deck. He furrowed his brow in frustration and added the card to his hand.

Itachi turned to Anko, "have any threes?" he asked.

"Go fish!" Anko smiled.

Itachi groaned and added yet another card to his already large collection.

Anko turned to Orochimaru, "alright Oro, give me your ten." She had a smug look on her face. Orochimaru looked at his cards and sighed, then handed one over to Anko. "Well gentlemen," she said standing up, "I don't have a preference about who should go first, so you can decide that amongst yourselves."

Hidan sighed and put his cards down, "I vote Oro goes first."

Orochimaru whipped around and scooted as far away from Anko as he could, "But you had the second least amount of cards! You should go first!"

"That means I should go last since I would have gotten second place, but if we are going to judge that way…" Hidan slowly turned, "I think we all know who goes first." All three of them stared at Itachi.

Itachi glanced to the side, trying to see an escape route. Maybe if I ran fast enough, he thought. "I…uh…" he desperately tried to think of an excuse as Anko started creeping closer.

Orochimaru stood back, unsure if he should try to help his friend or escape while the attention was diverted away from him.

Itachi sprinted, maybe it was a longshot, but he was healthy and he could definitely out run Hidan. There was a tug on the back of his sweatshirt and he glanced back; Hidan was faster than he thought.

"C'mon man, it's not gonna be that bad." Anko reassured Itachi, holding one of his arms.

"Yeah, it's probably not even that cold, we haven't had a frost yet!" Hidan added, holding onto Itachi's other arm.

"I don't know…we could get in trouble for this, we don't even know what goes in there…" he never got to finish his sentence. One second he was falling forward grasping at the air and the next he was engulfed by cold murky water.

A second later he stood up, the pond was pretty shallow and the water only came up to his waist, but he was soaked and started shivering. Almost as soon as he resurfaced he heard a splash a few feet to his side, probably Oro, he thought and started to walk in that direction.

Hidan stepped to the edge of the rock, "well, I'm afraid my time has come." He said, putting his hand over his heart, "would you grant a condemned man's final wish?" He smiled and stared into Anko's eyes.

Anko paused and considered this for a second, then smiled back, "Nope!" then pushed Hidan as hard as she could. Hidan guessed that was coming and right when Anko reached over to push him, he grabbed her hand and pulled her down with him. They both came up spluttering and laughing, "you asshole!" Anko laughed and splashed Hidan.

"Justice!" Hidan yelled and splashed back.

There fun was cut short when a campus security officer came over. Itachi was just stepping out of the pond with Orochimaru when they heard a man clear his throat, "You know there isn't any swimming allowed in the campus pond."

They all froze and stared at the officer, "n-now we do," Anko replied, trying very hard to suppress a giggle.

"This is a warning. If I find you here again the school will take disciplinary measures." The officer said, "Now get out and go get cleaned up." He watched them slosh out of the pond and collect their things, then went on his way.

Hidan and Anko started laughing as they walked toward the dorms, "you should have seen your face, Itachi!" Hidan said between fits of laughter.

Itachi was quiet and had his hands in his pockets, he hoped that a warning meant that it wouldn't go on his student record. He felt a shiver travel up his spine, he wasn't sure if was nervous or just cold.

"You could have gotten us in trouble!" Orochimaru sounded annoyed, "I can't have this affecting my reputation!"

"Lighten up!" Anko said, "It was only a warning! You'll be fine." They reached the dorm building and she went to the front stairs. "Text me when you guys are ready to get food!" she said then disappeared up the stairs.

Itachi and Orochimaru went to go towards the back stairs when they noticed Hidan hadn't moved, "Hey, Hidan!" Itachi stopped, "Hey!" he yelled.

"Hidan blinked then turned around, "what?" then noticed he'd been standing in the same place for a really long time, "sorry." He shook his head and followed them upstairs.

They reached Itachi and Orochimaru's room and they headed inside, but Hidan hovered in the doorway.

"Do you need something?" Itachi Asked.

"She's really awesome, don't you think?" Hidan asked.

"Who?" Orochimaru asked, turning towards Hidan after peeling off his drenched sweatshirt.

"Anko." Hidan replied, "She's cute too."

Orochimaru and Itachi glanced at each other, the Orochimaru turned to Hidan, "If you like her, then ask her out." Then he grabbed a towel.

Hidan sighed, "Maybe." Then walked back to his room. If only it was that easy. He really liked what they had and he didn't want to lose that by making it weird. He really liked her, and he would ask her out someday, hopefully soon. But just in case it didn't work, he wanted to enjoy this time for as long as possible.


	14. Chapter 14

There was a rhythmic beeping in the background as Itachi stared down at the multiplication test. "Times up!" His mom's voice broke his concentration and he glanced up from the paper on the table in front of him.

"How'd you do?" Mikoto smiled and picked up the sheet. Her eyes scanned the page quickly, it wouldn't take long to grade. She lowered the paper and looked down at her son: he didn't meet her gaze and she could see him holding back tears. "We can go over them again tomorrow, it's alright if you don't get it right away."

Itachi looked up and sniffed, "it's been a week… I just can't remember them." He didn't want to cry, he hated crying, but he felt the hot tears slide down his face regardless.

Mikoto sat down at the kitchen table next to him and put an arm around his small shoulders, "not everything will be easy to learn. Some things you're going to have to try at for a long time before it makes sense." She paused as Itachi sniffed loudly, "the 8 times tables are tricky, but you're smart and I know you'll get them."

Itachi was quiet, he didn't believe her. Math was the worst. He bit his lip and tried to hold back another sob, it was frustrating he memorized, he studied, and he tried but nothing worked. If life required him to do anything with numbers it just wasn't going to happen.

"Alright, put your math books away." His mom stood up, "I think you've had enough of that for today." She checked her watch, "you can have some reading time until your dad comes home, he has a surprise for you today!" she smiled.

Itachi wiped the tears off his face and looked questioningly up at his mom. His dad didn't do much when he got home from his office. Normally he was stressed or tired and would either go into the basement or his home office, Itachi wasn't allowed in either of these places. "Ok," he said quietly. He was still upset and reading would make him feel better, but now he was also curious.

He walked down the hall to his room and pulled a book off the shelf: The Three Musketeers. He had just started it last week and it was one of the most challenging he'd read so far. But this was the kind of challenge he enjoyed, it didn't involve numbers. He went back to the living room and curled up on one end of the sofa.

There was a thump and scuffling noise in the corner and Itachi glanced over. He smiled, "Sasuke, aren't you supposed to be taking a nap right now?" he closed his book and slid off the sofa and crossed over to where Sasuke was standing. "Come on, you need to go back and sleep!" He took his little brother's hand and walked him back down the hall to his room.

Sasuke's room was smaller than Itachi's but it was at the front of the house so the windows overlooked the front yard. Sasuke jumped into bed but stayed sitting up, "stay and play!" he said and held out a toy dinosaur.

Itachi smiled at it, it used to be his but Sasuke had gotten attached to it so he'd given him the toy. "I have to read right now, so maybe next time." He walked back to the door and glanced back at his baby brother. It had been exciting when his parent's had come home with another kid. It made the house feel more full and lively, before it was so quiet with just him and his mom mostly.

When he reached the sofa he picked up his book again and got lost in its pages. The story was long and complicated with lots of political intrigue and adventure. He mostly liked the adventure part since the politics were a little boring. In the background he heard the microwave beeping, his mom was probably starting to make dinner.

Itachi got so distracted by the story drawing him in that he never heard the front door open. Out of nowhere something soft hit him on the nose and jumped. His book flew out of his hands and across the sofa and he slipped sideways onto the floor where he sat panting, letting his nerves settle.

"Surprise." His dad stood across the room. He bent over and picked up the odd roll of white material that had scared Itachi.

Itachi laughed, "I didn't hear you even come inside!" his dad was tall and broad in the shoulders. He almost always looked tired or stressed but it hid how strong he was. Itachi knew, though. When he was smaller someone had tried to break into their house and he had woken up at the sound of loud banging and thumping. He'd walked into the hallway to see a crumpled figure trying to crawl away from his dad. The figure hadn't gotten far. Itachi remembered not seeing much, he was only there for about 30 seconds before his mom had hurried him back into his room but he'd never forget that night.

"Having your nose buried in a book is a good distraction from what's happening around you." He half smiled and walked over, "I have something for you" he dropped two white rolls of bandages onto Itachi's lap.

"But I'm not hurt?" Itachi looked sideways at his dad.

"These aren't for healing injuries, it's for preventing them." He held out his hand to help Itachi off the floor, "I'll show you how to use them." Then he walked over to the staircase that led to the basement.

Itachi felt his heart beat faster, was he going to the basement? He had always wondered what it looked like. He followed his dad slowly, nervously descending the staircase and squeezing the rolls of bandages. His dad opened the door and went into the dark room. As he entered the light flicked on and he saw a large rectangle of space: a quarter of the room had rubber floor mats and exercise machines while the other had smooth wood panel floors and was wide open space.

He saw his dad motion for him to come over and he stepped into the room, the wood creaking slightly under his feet. The smell of rubber and sweat hit his face.

When he reached where his dad was standing they both sat down in the middle of the floor. His dad unrolled one of the bandages, "let me see one of your hands." Itachi watched as his dad wrapped the white bandage around his right hand in a complicated pattern twisting it between his fingers and around his wrist. He watched as he repeated the same process with his left hand. "Now watch closely," he said as he pulled out another set of bandages except they were brown with age and covered in sweat stains, "this is how you wrap your hands, I won't do yours for you again; you need to learn this. If you do it wrong you could break your hands." Itachi nodded and concentrated on what his dad was doing.

After this was done they stood up and walked to a corner where a punching bag was hanging from the ceiling. "Itachi, from today on you are going to learn how to defend yourself and be strong. Physical strength is the only thing you have to rely on. A man who leads other men needs to be able to prove that he is the strongest at all times. Weapons fail, they run out of ammunition, they get blunt, and they get lost. The only weapon you know you can always rely on is yourself. Do you understand?" Itachi nodded his expression determined.

"To punch you hold your hand like this" he showed Itachi how to make a fist, "and you use your whole body and swing like this," he hit the punching bag. "Now you try." His dad stepped back and crossed his arms.

Itachi took a tentative step forward and made his small hands into fists, he faintly heard the sound of beeping in the background. He stared at the punching bag, his stomach knotted in a twist of excitement and anxiety: what if he hit it wrong? What if he messed up? What if his dad decided that it wasn't worth it to teach him anymore? The beeping got louder in his ears. He set his jaw and drew his arm back and punched the bag with all his strength. Pain exploded in his knuckles like all of them were snapping at once, the world went black, and he felt all the air rush out of his body. The pain reverberated up his arm. All he could sense was the darkness around him, shallow breaths, pain, and steady, constant, loud beeping.

.:.

There was a hissing sound somewhere. The air tasted like metal. As much as he didn't want to, he slowly blinked his eyes open. At first, the world was a white blur but it started to come into focus slowly. He stared up at faded ceiling tiles that were slightly bulging from water damage. He glanced sideways but all he could see was the edge of the ceiling. He made the mistake of trying to move. Pain exploded in his sides and arms. His legs felt like weights and he could feel a dull swollen pain in one of his knees.

As far as he knew, he was the only one in the room. He could still hear the beeping, loud and repeated. He swiveled his neck as far as he could to the side: there was a jungle of tubes and wires hanging out of various machines and monitors, the one beeping showed his heartbeat. He swiveled his head to the other side and saw a blank gray wall with some of the paint peeling off it.

How did I get here, he thought, trying to remember where he had been and what could have possibly happened to warrant hospitalization. No, that's what was odd. He wasn't in a hospital. He wasn't in his house. He wasn't anywhere that he recognized and he was alone. Panic started to rise in his throat, wherever he was he had to leave. The room started to feel like it was closing in and it got harder to breathe. His chest started to get tight. The beeping got louder and faster. He tried to move, to push past the pain, but even still there was resistance.

A door at the front corner of the room slammed open and a girl dressed all in black came rushing in, "what the hell!" she shouted as she tried to flip some dials.

Itachi tried to shout, to tell whoever this was to get him out of this place, but his voice was muffled under the steady hissing of an oxygen mask. He tried to reach for her arm but was cut short by straps holding his wrists down to the sides of the bed. His mind went blank and his eyes grew wide. He struggled, pulling against the restraints. Have to leave. Have to run. Have to scream.

"You need to calm down!" the girl said, pulling a syringe from somewhere Itachi couldn't see. "You're going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that!" She held down the arm that was closest to her and inserted the needle into Itachi's shoulder.

Itachi felt his limbs grow heavy. He tried to struggle but whatever she had just injected him with was making him weaker. The less he was able to move the more terrified he became, he felt knots forming in his stomach and his throat constricting. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak, and he couldn't leave.

The girl sighed, "If you keep up thrashing around we're going to run out of haloperidol." She smiled sideways and Itachi noticed she had a piercing on her lower lip, "anyways, he'll be glad to know you're finally awake." She walked back toward the door, "be back soon, my job is going to get more interesting now that you're conscious." Then she left and closed the door behind her.

Itachi stared up at the ceiling. Who was this "he"? Why did he care about whether he was awake or not? Why had she said that he kept on thrashing around? He was being drugged to calm down but this wasn't a hospital, it was too grungy and secure and whoever that girl was? She at least didn't look like any doctor. I'm in prison. He felt the panic rising again. He desperately tried to remember what happened before he had apparently lost consciousness but nothing was coming back. He tugged at his left arm and felt the restraints. There was also something else. A dull aching kind of pain near his elbow. He rolled his head around to look: a needle stuck into his arm and tubing was taped down to his wrist.

He rolled his head around to see his other arm but all he could see were bandages with bloodstains. He stared at the ceiling again, there really wasn't much else to do. He felt like crying but no tears came. He wanted to curl up as small as he could, not be lying flat on his back on a lumpy mattress being pricked with needles and stuck with tubes. He wanted to disappear. It felt like he was living on the edge of existence, being held over the abyss by plastic tubing and ropes, holding him back, tearing him away from the calm quiet darkness that he wanted to engulf him.

The door slammed open and he flinched involuntarily. He shook his head and tried not to think about whoever was walking over. He saw the girl first. This time he actually saw her face: she was pale and had short lavender hair pulled back into a loose messy bun. She had purple eyeshadow on that matched her hair. She walked over and reached to remove the oxygen mask.

"Wait." A familiar voice stopped her. Itachi felt his heart plummet to the floor and almost threw up. He started to gag and cough into the mask. His eyes grew wide and he felt himself start to shake as Madara walked into his line of vision.

"Well well, finally awake." Madara looked vaguely bored and raised an eyebrow. "It's about time. Konan thought you'd never open your eyes."

"Considering where he was when you dropped his muddy bleeding body into my life, it wasn't totally unwarranted." Konan, apparently the purple haired girl, said. "You should pay me extra for bringing him back from the grave."

Madara laughed and looked at her, "we can add all that up later, first I need to have a talk with my nephew." He nodded at Konan who reached for Itachi's head and slipped the oxygen mask off.

The air in the room was warm and stale compared to the crisp pure oxygen that had been flowing into his nose and mouth before. He smelled dried blood and sweat and moldy concrete. His throat was dry and he coughed a few times.

"Welcome back." Madara said folding his arms and looking down at Itachi.

"W-where am I?" Itachi croaked. It was difficult to form words.

"First things first." Madara interrupted, "What do you remember?"

Itachi shook his head, "Nothing. Something happened and I ended up here" his voice was barely a whisper.

Madara nodded and took a breath, "your parents are dead."

The words hit Itachi like an icy blast. Clarity and memories came flooding back all at once. Minato, hiding Naruto, his parents in the basement, seeing Sasuke, running, blood, rain. "I-I k-killed them…" he whispered. He started to shake again. This time he could feel tears gathering in his eyes.

"Yes." Madara agreed, "Though, I don't think anyone will miss them too much. Certainly not anyone in Konoha."

"They were my parents!" Itachi's voice got louder, "I murdered them in cold blood…. They didn't deserve to die!" He was shouting now, angry tears spilling down his face.

Madara snorted, "oh really? You think they were some sort of saints just because they're dead now?" a smile slowly spread across his face, "I found you lying on their grave, cursing them and their existence. Don't forget everything they did to you just because they're gone."

"My mom didn't do anything!" Itachi tried to sit up but fell backwards, wincing in pain.

"That bitch?" Madara seemed to find this even more humorous, "you think she was on your side?"

"She was the only person who took care of me!" he tried to get up again but this time Madara held down his shoulder.

"You think your mother cared about you? What kind of mother stands by and watches her husband mercilessly hit their kids? What kind of mother ignores her child's screams in the middle of the night as they're tormented by nightmares? What kind of mother says that their dad really loves them after he's tried to twist off their arm? What kind of mother ignores the fact that her kid is sick with her genetic illness and pretends to know nothing about it?"

The words stung. Itachi didn't respond. He just stared up at the ceiling letting Madara's comments wash over him. He was right, of course. His mom had known everything that happened and still tried to side with his father. He really didn't have anyone.

"You didn't murder anyone, you took them down because they were too dangerous." Madara took a step back.

"I killed them…"

"They deserved it."

"With my own hands…"

"He taught you how to be a weapon. You were just following his teaching." Madara glanced at Konan, "he needs more time."

She sighed, "Are you sure?" Madara nodded. "Well, you're the boss." Then she disappeared through the door.

"I deserve to die." Itachi said quietly.

"You may think so, you've even tried. But that's not what I want for you."

"Why do you care all of a sudden?" Itachi snapped, "My life doesn't matter to you, if I want to die then let me."

"No." Madara said, picking up the oxygen mask, "It does matter, because talent like yours shouldn't be wasted." He slipped the mask over Itachi's head, letting the canned air fill his nostrils. "You'll see my point of view soon."

Konan walked back into the room with two IV bags and prepped them. She connected to tubes in with the rest and then watched them start to drip.

"Don't use too much this time, he just needs more rest." Madara said and walked out the door.

Konan sighed and leaned against a cabinet, watching the fluid slowly make its way through the plastic tubing. "I wish I didn't have to put you under again, just watching you sleep and twitch is really not that interesting." The fluid reached the needle in Itachi's arm. "Ah well, you'll be up and around soon enough." Then she followed Madara out and closed the door.

Itachi felt helpless as the drug, whatever it was, slowly started to take effect. His vision started to blur and go dark, his breathing slowed down, and almost as if it were happening naturally, he fell fast asleep.

.:.

"Ow!" Itachi yelled, shaking his hand and trying to ignore the pain ricocheting around inside his bones.

"The first hit is always the worst." His dad smiled down, "remember Itachi, the more you hurt other people the more you hurt yourself. No one makes it through life whole but with enough strength you can survive the blows." Fukaku's face was serious now and he placed a hand on Itachi's head.

Itachi was quiet and he looked up into his dad's eyes, "that means you're hurting."

"Everyone is hurting. But the people who hide it are the ones who are strong. Pain is part of learning how to fight. It's going to hurt, sometimes unbearably, but you need to keep it under control and never show that you feel it." He knelt down so that he could stare straight into Itachi's eyes, "can you do that?"

Itachi clenched his jaw and his face became determined, "I can. I'll make you proud." He clenched his fists, "let me try again."

Fukaku smiled, "alright." He stood up and held the punching bag still again as Itachi hit it repeatedly. He had worried that he started teaching Itachi too late and that he would be too old to learn effectively, but he seemed to picking things up quickly.

Every time he hit the punching bag Itachi could feel his hands shudder. Ignore it ignore it ignore it, he repeated to himself. There was something calming about the motion, it was something he'd never felt before: a strange high that made him want to keep going and to become stronger. He paused to take a breath and glanced down at his hands, the pure white bandages were dotted with crimson spots across his knuckles.

"Let's try something," His dad interrupted his thoughts. He walked to the center of the room and motioned for Itachi to follow. "Attack me."

Itachi frowned, "but…"

"Yes?"

"You're just so much bigger than me… and you've been doing this for years… I don't think it would be very fair." Itachi glanced sideways.

"True." Fukaku nodded, "in reality a fight is almost never fair. And you can learn how to hit someone and you can learn how to protect yourself. The fact is that no matter how much you train you can never be prepared for a battle. Your opponent could be twice your size or half your size, but you never underestimate them. They only have as much power as you give them in your head."

Itachi looked his dad up and down trying to find some weakness to exploit. It's my first day of this what do I know? He asked himself. "Wouldn't experience be what makes the difference in fighters?" he asked quietly.

"Yes." Fukaku half smiled, "which is why you need to build experience. The first thing you need to learn is what it feels like to hit another person." He knelt down to be closer to Itachi's height, "you need to hit me as hard as you can in the face."

"But I don't want to hurt you," Itachi stared wide-eyed at his dad.

"It's what you have to do, now hit me."

Itachi hesitated, it felt wrong. Sure he could hit the punching bag but this was his dad, it was different. Yeah he'd told him to do it but it still didn't sit right.

"Itachi, just concentrate and hit me."

"O-ok…" he said slowly and started to make a fist. He picked a spot right under his dad's eye and stared at it. He shuddered, trying not to imagine what it would feel like to have flesh moving under his knuckles. He pulled back. He squeezed his hand tighter. He put all his weight behind his hand and swung as hard as he could. There was a weird squishing sensation then a sharp pain shot up his arm. Itachi fell forwards and avoided stepping on his dad by just inches.

Fukaku laughed, "not bad not bad." He held the side of his face and stood up. "Alright, now attack me."

Itachi paused, holding his quivering hand. The pain had shocked him and the feeling of another human under his hand had been unsettling. He wasn't sure he was ready to full on attack someone twice his size with probably ten times the strength.

Almost as if he was reading Itachi's mind Fukaku spoke, "remember: it's not about size or strength. Experience is helpful but it's not always necessary. Think of a plan to take me down and put it into action."

Itachi frowned and looked his dad up and down again, think of it like a puzzle, he told himself and started to reevaluate. His dad was crouched so his center of gravity was low, his arms protected his sides and his face. His best bet was to find a way to knock him off balance.

He took a deep a breath and sprinted to the right, watching carefully as he saw his dad rotate to accommodate a new angle. It would have to be during this transition that he should attack. He turned left and waited for the shift. He saw it then charged straight at his dad. As soon as his body collided with his dad's knee he saw bright white light and his ribs exploded into shards of pain.

.:.

Itachi's eyes snapped open and he panted into the oxygen mask. He felt sweat drip off his forehead and fall into his hair. The burning in his ribs persisted and he tried to look to see what it was. There were blurry figures in the room, one was touching his side causing the pain; the other two stood in the distance too fuzzy to make out. He let out a muffled yelp as more pain exploded across his torso.

"Oh shit." Konan's voice was distant over the sound of his own heartbeat and heavy breathing. "You had to wake up now?!" She continued to do whatever it was she was doing.

He wanted to yell at her stop and curl up into a ball. He tried to twist away and was reminded of the restraints on his wrists and ankles.

"It'll be over in a second if you stop moving." Konan muttered through gritted teeth, trying to keep whatever she was doing still. "I just have one spot left, I know it hurts but if I don't do this then you won't heal properly." Then she added, "You weren't supposed to be conscious for this anyways," under her breath.

Her hands moved quickly and there was one final burst of pain. Itachi bit back a scream and felt it come out as tears instead. Have to stay calm, can't move, don't let it bother you, he tried to relax and ignore it but failed miserably.

"Done!" Konan exclaimed and stepped back. She wiped sweat off her brow and removed a pair of latex gloves. "It has been a long time since I've reset ribs from the inside." She smiled down at Itachi, "just couldn't be passed out until I was done with the last bolt could you?"

Itachi's eyes widened, I was cut open…. and bolted back together? He tried to imagine what she had done to him. He rolled his head to the side and saw his shirt was rolled up and his torso was bandaged from right under his arms down to his waist.

"I wish we had an X-ray machine here, it would make my life easier, especially on fight night. But nope! I have to go all the way to the hospital to get them done, then those lab techs don't develop them for a week!" she scowled, "just because I don't have residency they think I'm not legit. Assholes."

There was a thud as the door closed and one of the fuzzy figures walked over and came into focus, "At least you were able to fix it before it got any worse." Madara sighed and stared down at Itachi.

"Had to re-break some of them as it was." Konan muttered and started to clean up a pile of bloody bandages and metal instruments.

"Konan, I need you to bring me ACZ-520 please." Madara said.

Konan paused, "now? Are you sure it's a good time…"

"Yes, now. I'll need about five minutes." He interrupted.

Itachi felt his skin start to crawl, every time he opened his eyes there was more pain and uncertainty and it was setting him on edge. As it was he could barely breathe without lightning arcs of pain lighting up his sides. His eyes followed Konan out of the room and he wished she'd stay, anything was better than being alone in a room with Madara.

"How are you feeling?" Madara asked, his face still expressionless.

Itachi glanced away, it wasn't as if he could answer if he wanted to.

"Konan informed me that you tried to pull out your IV in your sleep again." Madara sighed, "You really turned out to be more difficult than I originally planned, but I have one more card to play." He reached forward and lifted up Itachi's head and removed the oxygen mask.

The warm moist air hit Itachi's face and he coughed softly to not bother his ribs, it didn't work and the stabs of pain made tears form in the corners of his eyes. "What do you want," he rasped. He could smell his own blood in the room and the thought of it made him gag.

"Right now I am giving you a choice." Madara laid the oxygen mask down on the side of the bed and crossed his arms over his chest. "You have made it quite clear that you don't want to be alive and I have made it clear that I want you to be alive." He paused and looked at Itachi expectantly.

"What?" he knew he'd thought about it, it had been on his mind since he'd woken up at the bottom of a staircase alone and in pain.

Madara reached over and grabbed Itachi's left wrist and unbuckled the restraints. He raised the arm up so it was in Itachi's view. Itachi's eyes widened as he saw it was covered in scratches and cuts.

"We didn't think we'd need to restrain you at first." Madara brought the arm back down to the bed and buckled it again. "You were unconscious but succeeded in ripping out your IV at least three times before we decided it would be best not let you hurt yourself further." He walked around the bed and unstrapped Itachi's right arm and held it up, "you have a cut on this arm but you somehow managed to get the bandage off and scratch out the stitches." He put the arm back and buckled it once again.

Itachi stared at the ceiling, his eyes growing wide, "I...I did all that?"

Madara laughed, "That was just the beginning. You had a fever and were thrashing around so much we were forced to give you muscle relaxers and tranquilizers. Konan has had to keep you on 24 hour watch just in case." He walked back around the bed to stand next to the monitors again, "suffice it to say it's taken quite a bit to get you to this point. You're lucky to still be alive."

"Oh." Itachi was quiet.

"Now, I of course wouldn't have done this without a reason."

"Of course not." Itachi muttered.

Madara ignored him and continued, "You have a choice to either die here or work for me." Itachi stared at him. "Before you decide there are some parts of this deal you should know about: first, if you work for me I can make sure you have a place to stay and will be healthy before you begin. You would be doing work similar to what you did for your family. If you decide you would rather not then I leave you here. I'm not going to kill you, that's up for you to do. But know this, you stay here in this bed, strapped down with IV's feeding you just enough nutrients and fluids to keep you alive, no painkillers, no medication for your stomach illness, no visitors. For all I care you can rot in this hole if you really want to."

Itachi broke eye contact and stared at the ceiling. It should be an easy choice, almost a no brainer, except that one of those choices meant working for Madara who had terrorized him almost as much as his father had. It didn't seem much better than what he'd put up with before.

The door opened and Konan came back in carrying a bag filled with clear fluid. "Ah yes," Madara smirked, "There are two more things you should know."

Itachi rolled his head back over to Madara, "What are they?" his voice was hoarse.

"If you work for me I can give you a drug that will take away all of your symptoms from your Menetrier's disease. What the doctor gave you is just temporary relief as you probably know, but this will make your life normal: no more nausea, no more stomach pains, and no more vomiting blood."

"What's the catch?" Itachi scowled, he may be exhausted and in pain, but he knew better than to take Madara at face value.

"This drug, ACV-520, is not available on the regular market because it is highly addictive. If you miss one dosage then you'll experience withdrawal symptoms so severe they could lead to death."

Itachi closed his eyes, this was a lot of information all at once. Though he still couldn't justify why this would be any different from his life before.

"Would you like to know where Sasuke is right now?" Madara's voice interrupted his thoughts.

Hearing Sasuke's name made Itachi's eyes snap open. He'd forgotten. "I left him," Itachi started to panic, something happened to Sasuke and it was his fault.

"He's still in Konoha." Madara mentioned, casually brushing his bangs to the side, "my sources say he has continued his education at his previous school."

"He has no one…" Itachi felt the guilt growing inside of him.

"On the contrary he seems to have taken up living with this man," he pulled a photograph out of his pocket and turned it towards Itachi, "Does he look familiar to you?" Madara's voice was almost mocking.

"No!" Itachi tried to sit up, "Not him!" he felt his heart tear, after everything it had still happened. He couldn't do anything about it.

"Ah so I was right." Madara put the photo back in his pocket, "this is Orochimaru. The one haunting your nightmares."

"I swore he'd never get him… I promised… I said he'd be safe…" Itachi felt the weight of hopelessness fall on his chest.

"Work for me and I can show you the only way to save him." Madara smiled and stared into Itachi's eyes.

"What do you mean?" Itachi glanced up.

"I know about his curse mark, I've seen what it can do." He raised an eyebrow, "With training you can use your eyes to undo it." he paused again, "of course that's only available to you if you work for me."

Itachi looked at Madara warily, it seemed odd that he would want to help. Of course it wasn't for free, that was a given. But then again was it? Somehow Madara had found him and decided it was worth it to help him. It almost felt like just working for Madara wasn't enough.

"So, what will it be? Work for me or stay here and wish for death?" Madara's face had become expressionless again.

Itachi closed his eyes and let out a breath. "I…I'll do it." If he still had the chance to save Sasuke, he had to take it. Sasuke had been the reason he didn't give up before and he wasn't going to forget that now.

Madara smiled, "in that case, let's see if we can't take care of the stomach pains first." He nodded at Konan, "let's get him his first dose."

Konan nodded back, "you're the boss." Then started to hook up the bag of liquid.

Itachi watched as she prepped a needle and stepped over to the side of the bed and found the vein on his arm. She quickly cleaned the area then plunged the needle in. he felt a small pinch. Itachi felt his lids grow heavy, being woken up in the middle of minor surgery and then forced to choose a life of working for Madara was exhausting.

"Relax, kid." Konan's voice sounded far away, "From here on out, things will get better."

"Give a full dose and then let him sleep." Madara's voice drifted from the side. Slowly everything melted away and Itachi receded back into his dreams and memories.

.:.

Itachi winced as the alcohol stung the abrasions on his knuckles. He glanced over at the pile of bloodied bandages next to him on the Bathroom sink. "Aren't they were supposed to keep you from getting hurt?" he asked.

Fukaku glanced up from swabbing alcohol, "they do. The way you wrap them prevents the bones in your hands from breaking. Small cuts are always expected after a fight."

"Oh." Itachi replied. He was tired. It had been an oddly thrilling experience fighting with his dad. He was excited for being able to learn more things and to try and figure out a way that he could beat his father. He'd tried but in the end he was just too small.

Fukaku put a band aid over a particularly large abrasion, "so, tomorrow will you be ready to go again?" he asked looking into Itachi's eyes.

Itachi smiled, "yes! And tomorrow I'm definitely going to take you down." If he did nothing else he'd find a way to beat his dad. Size didn't matter, strength didn't matter, and he'd gain more experience with time.

"Is that a promise?" Fukaku asked, raising an eyebrow. Itachi nodded in response. "Good, now it's your bed time." He smiled and ruffled Itachi's short hair.

"Ok!" Itachi jumped down from the edge of the sink and grabbed his bandages then ran down the hall to his room.

Fukaku walked out of the bathroom behind him and continued down to the Livingroom where Mikoto was reading a horticulture magazine on the sofa.

She glanced up as he approached, "well? How did he do?"

"Exceptionally." He smiled, "what I would expect from my son."

Mikoto smiled back and closed her magazine, "so, this is going to be an everyday thing?"

"Yes. It's very important that he learns as much as possible and as quickly as possible." Fukaku sat on the sofa and wrapped his arm around Mikoto. "I'm glad we started this, he's always been so…" he tried to find the right word.

"Flighty?" Mikoto asked.

"Well, yes. He's so withdrawn and obsessed with books. Tonight was the first time I ever felt like I could connect with him." Fukaku glanced at his wife, "he's a lot like you in a way, quiet and smart, but that doesn't mean he can't use those things to his advantage."

"He's smart enough to figure out how." Mikoto laughed.

"Yes, yes he is." Fukaku smiled.


	15. Chapter 15

A cool breeze swept across Itachi. He felt a large patch of warmth across his torso and brightness pried his eyelids open. The first thing he noticed was that he wasn't wearing an oxygen mask anymore, instead he breathed in the fresh spring air. It was relieving to actually smell a faint trace of trees and concrete instead of blood. He was still lying on his back but something felt different and new. It took him a second to realize that the mattress was soft and the sheets around him crisp and clean, but that wasn't the only different thing: he was clean. His clothes were different, his bandages were white and fresh, and he no longer had dried blood or dirt on his face.

The sound of squealing tires interrupted his thoughts and he flinched in surprise. Pain flashed down his sides. So I'm still injured, he thought but he had no idea how long he'd been asleep. He glanced in the direction of the sound and saw an open window next to him. He gasped. Outside were tall office buildings shining in the sunlight and the sound of hundreds of people walking around. He tried to sit up to get a better look but immediately stopped as another round of pain bombarded him.

He looked to other side and saw the room he was in: a smallish rectangle with a bookshelf and a desk. The bookshelf was mostly empty except for a few dusty magazines and the desk was bare. There was an empty chair next to where he was lying. He didn't have an actual bed, just a mattress on the floor under the window. There was a hardwood floor with a small rug in the center of the room. There were two doors, one which he figured led to a closet and the other to the rest of where ever he was. There was another window next to the non-closet door but he could only see a brick wall through it. There was a large cardboard box in the corner next to the bookshelf that looked like it had a layer of dust covering it. The room was clean but it felt old: the floor had stains under the window as if it had been left open in the rain too often and the paint on the window frames was starting to peel.

Itachi sighed and stared at the ceiling again, I wonder how long I've been asleep this time. He had no way of telling, it could have been weeks. He held his arms up and looked at them: the left was covered in large purple bruises and small indentations from where the needles and IV tubing had been. The right was still bandaged from his elbow to his wrist but now the bandages were white and there was no sign of bloodstains. He looked at his hands, his knuckles had scabs and bruises across them on both hands. He wondered what the rest of him looked like even though he could still feel one of his knees was sore and bandaged. He gently touched his face and felt small band aids on one of his cheekbones and one on his chin.

The floor creaked and Itachi whipped his head towards the door, sending another wave of pain down his sides causing him to wince. The doorknob twisted and the door opened slowly and Konan entered holding a mug and a thick book. She walked over to the chair and sat down before she noticed Itachi's eyes following her.

"Oh!" she blinked in surprise, "You're awake!" She took a long sip from the mug and put the book on the floor. "How are you feeling?"

Itachi was quiet, now that he was here and more lucid questions were starting to buzz around in his head but there was something holding him back from asking. "Tired." Was all he managed to say.

"Understandable. You've been through a lot in the past month." She smiled down at him.

"So… It's been a month?" he asked hoping to better gauge how long he'd been unconscious.

She thought a bit before answering, "Yeah, I think so. You were unconscious for a few weeks before you woke up the first time. After that it was another week. And it was a few days again after that before today."

"Oh," he stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out what day it might be.

"It's May 13th," Konan said, "in case you were wondering."

Itachi didn't say anything for a really long time, he just let everything wash over him again: his friend was murdered with his wife, he murdered his parents, Sasuke was with Orochimaru, and he fell off the face of the earth. "Where am I?" he asked finally.

"Mist city." Konan replied from behind her book.

"Where is that?" Itachi looked over at her.

She lowered her book and stared at him with a questioning look, "you… don't know?"

Itachi could feel his face reddening, "no…"

"It's the state capital on the coast. Hold on," she pulled out her cellphone and showed him a map, "this is where we are now," she pointed to a small blue dot. "And this," she scrolled the map sideways until she found a small red dot in a corner of the state, "this is Konoha."

Itachi's eyes widened, "How far away is it?"

"About eight hours by car. Six hours if you drive like Madara."

Itachi closed his eyes, he was a long way from home, in a strange city, and surrounded by strangers with the exception of Madara. "Where is he?"

"Who?" Konan asked, looking up from her book again.

"Madara." Itachi said, shuddering as he spoke the name.

Konan shrugged, "working probably, maybe out somewhere. He'll most likely be back later today, he seemed busy earlier."

Itachi nodded. At least he wouldn't have to see his great uncle right away. Nothing like waking up in a strange place with the only person you know being an estranged relative who blackmailed you into working for them. "Do you… work for him? For Madara?" he asked.

An amused look spread over Konan's face, "yep."

"What does he do?"

Konan let out a sigh, "It's really a bit hard to put into words because I'm pretty sure he's the only one who actually knows. But I guess for the most part he lends people money."

This sounded like too docile a job for someone like Madara, Itachi thought but kept it to himself. "Why does he need his own doctor then?"

"I don't lend people money. And I am definitely not his doctor. He has a small group of…specially talented individuals who do jobs for him. One of my jobs includes first aid and medical procedures because I am a doctor. Just not his."

"What do you mean by 'specially talented?'" Itachi narrowed his eyes.

"To have money to lend people you need to have money in the first place. We get him money."

Itachi didn't want to know what she meant by that, but by the sound of things he'd gone from working for an extortionist to a criminal mastermind. Instead he changed the subject, "How long do I have to stay in bed?"

"Until you can walk without help. But don't think that's what means your healthy, you are not doing anything that could reinjure or further damage anything until you are completely healed." She took another long sip from her mug, "and I don't think those ribs are going to let you up for another week or so anyways."

"I've had broken ribs before they don't take that long to heal."

Konan paused and held contact with Itachi's eyes, "Itachi, how long have you been ignoring pain for?"

The question was unexpected and it made Itachi uncomfortable, "What's that supposed to mean?" he scowled.

"You can't hide something from someone who's seen the damage inside your body. I looked at your X-rays, even managed to get a copy of the MRI from when you were at the doctor for your shoulder, there is a lot of scar tissue everywhere as well as signs of injuries that never healed properly." Her face was serious, "How long have you had to live with pain?"

Itachi was silent. He thought back as far as he could. There had always been something: the episodes with his eyes, the "training", and the more violent days of "training". But no matter what happened he'd always tried to hide it, because everyone was hurting from something what made him so special? Pain was part of life, wasn't it?

"Regardless of what you've been through," Konan continued, "I am personally making sure you are fully healed before resuming working for anyone or doing anything. And, by the way, when it comes to the matter of your health my word is a higher authority than Madara's." She smiled and finished whatever she had left in her mug. "So, are you gonna tell me or not?"

"Pain is part of life, a necessary evil, everyone has it. Once you move past pain and learn to ignore it you can become stronger." Itachi recited staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Words I never thought I'd regret hearing." Madara's voice came out of nowhere.

Itachi jumped at the sudden new sound. Having Madara in the room made him want to melt through the floor.

Konan glanced over to the door and nodded, "Hey."

Madara nodded back, "just thought I'd see how things were today before I headed out. Do you need anything?" Konan shook her head. "In that case, I'll see you later this evening." Then he turned to leave. When he got to the door he paused, "Glad you're awake, Itachi." He said then left the room.

There was silence as they listened to Madara's footsteps disappear down the hallway. After they had gone, Konan turned to Itachi, "Are you hungry?"

A growl came from Itachi's stomach, "I guess…" he couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten a full meal or anything at all.

"You'll probably enjoy getting to eat food again instead of having it put into your body through tubes. There is nothing like actually getting to chew and swallow and taste food." She got a distant look in her eyes like she was thinking of the best sandwich she'd ever eaten. "What do you want?"

"I don't know…" he didn't really want anything in particular except, "actually, do you have any tea?" he asked.

Konan raised an eyebrow and looked down at him, "you haven't eaten solid food in weeks and all you want is tea?" Itachi nodded. "Okaaaay," Konan stood up, "I'm not sure if we have any but I'll look around. And I'll bring you something solid, tea is NOT a substitute for a meal and if you think it is then no wonder you're so skinny, geez." She shook her head and walked to the door.

Itachi watched her go. Madara's words echoed in his head, so he'd been the one that taught that to his father, it kind of made sense though, someone like Madara never showed any weakness or that he experienced pain at all, it was like he existed above it somehow. And then there's me, he thought, drowning in pain and rooted to the spot, helpless and useless, I can't even sit up.

He sighed, if he had to stay in bed like this then he at least wished he had books or something to help pass the time that didn't involve staring at the ceiling. He glanced down and saw that Konan had left her book on the floor a few feet away, if he could just grab it… Pain exploded in his side as his fingertips brushed the corner of the cover. He let his arm fall limp and sweat trickled down his forehead, but he'd felt the edge and he wasn't going to let broken ribs stop him. He yelled and managed to grab the corner of the cover and pull the book over as another round of electric pain arced across his torso.

He panted and waited for the pain to subside clutching the book tightly. At this point he didn't care what it was he just wanted something to think about other than where he was, what he was going through, and the pain.

There were loud thumps outside the room and the door slammed open, "What the hell do you-" Konan stopped short when she saw him holding the book and her face softened, "oh." Then her face got stern again, "look, if you need something just ask for it ok? I swear if you pop any stitches or your ribs shift and the bolts come out…"

"I'm sorry, I just…" Itachi interrupted hoping to calm her down before she got mad.

Konan smiled, "Itachi, you're here to heal and if you need something out of reach just ask. No one expects you to just sleep the whole time, we can get you stuff to read but to do that I need you to tell me."

"o-ok…" he wasn't sure what to do, no one had ever come running to see why he yelled before. No one had ever told him that they would help before.

"I'm going to finish your breakfast and then we can talk more." Konan said then disappeared through the door.

Great, I even get in trouble when I'm not at home, he thought. He glanced at the cover of the book: "Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin. He sighed, it wasn't his usual reading material but it was something and he wasn't about to complain. He glanced over the description on the back then opened up to the first page instantly being drawn in by the words. It felt so good to be somewhere else in his head instead of where he was.

By the time Konan came back he was already half way through the second chapter. He looked up as she walked into the room with two plates and a mug. "We didn't have any tea but I made coffee, it's almost the same thing." She said. She set the plates and the mug on the floor, "ok, I'm gonna help you sit up." She reached over and maneuvered the pillows to be against the wall and help Itachi into a sitting position. She handed Itachi a plate with eggs and toast on it and a fork then passed the mug of coffee.

He stared down into the black steaming liquid, he'd never actually tried coffee before but the smell was so strong it almost made him gag. He took a small sip and felt the burning liquid hit his throat and almost spit it back out. After he swallowed the bitter aftertaste hit. He started coughing and almost spilled the black lava all over himself.

Konan gave him a questioning look, "Don't like coffee?" Itachi managed to shake his head between coughs and wincing from his ribs. "That's so weird." She said and sat down on the floor with her own plate.

Itachi finally calmed down and started to nibble on the edge of a piece of toast, he was really hungry but it was like his body forgot what it was like to eat. They ate in silence for a few minutes.

"Alright, if you don't drink coffee and you just drink tea then how do you wake up?" Konan looked at Itachi expectantly, "There is not nearly enough caffeine in tea to do that."

He shrugged, "it always worked fine. It was always really calming in the morning and before going to sleep, when you're stressed, and it's really a lot healthier than coffee."

"I don't think you have the right to lecture anyone on their health choices." Konan motioned towards his plate of barely touched food. "But you should be careful, drinking hot liquids can trick your body into thinking that it's full and can make you eat less. Take it from your healthcare professional: you can't risk the calories."

Itachi looked away, uncomfortable at his weight being pointed out. He knew he was small, muscle mass had always been a struggle and since finding out he'd had a genetic illness it made sense why he was so small.

Konan noticed the sudden change, "Well, that's enough about you. I'm sure you'd like to know something about me since I am looking after you and all." She glanced at Itachi then continued, "I grew up in Mist city, my family wasn't the most well off but my parents made sure I went to school and eventually I got to college and I discovered a love of biology and medicine. So I decided to pursue medical school which was way out of my parent's price range. I applied for scholarships and everything but we weren't going to have enough. One day in the mail I got a letter saying that I was awarded the remainder of my tuition and fees for med school because of my previous grades from an independent scholarship program. My parents were thrilled, I was thrilled: it was great. We kept reading and saw that one of the conditions was that I had to work for a very specific company after I graduated, not really a problem." She paused and smiled, "I had no idea what I was getting into. Med school was tough: I'm talking all-nighters, making coffee my life blood, and endless exams. But it was all worth it. Graduation day came a long and a man introduced himself to me as I was leaving the ceremony, he said he was the one who paid for my school and that he would like me to start working right away, no residency or anything. I was really excited about this: to be employed right out of school? It was unheard of." She paused and got a far off look in her eyes.

Itachi poked at one of the eggs, not really hungry anymore. "So, what was it like?" He asked, Konan's story piqued his interest.

"My first day I walked to the address I'd been given and it was… unexpected. It was a crappy old boxing gym on the edge of the city. You can probably imagine that I was nervous and starting to wonder if this job was legit. When I walked in it was empty except for the guy I'd seen before sitting at a desk. When he saw me he stood, shook my hand and introduced himself again as Madara Uchiha."

"Wait," Itachi looked up in surprise, "He paid for your entire schooling?"

Konan smiled, "yeah. To be honest, it was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. But you know Madara, he wanted a return on his investment so I started working for him. It was mostly just patch up jobs at first: doing stitches and cleaning out cuts on his fight nights, watching the gym while he was away, stuff like that. I was a little miffed that it wasn't an actual doctor's position but I wasn't really able to afford to be picky about where I worked. About a month after I started he asked me if I ever fought anyone before which I hadn't, not unless you count dumb cat fights in high school. But then he offered to teach me self-defense since he knew I walked to and from work every day. I took him up on that and found that it was really fun so I started getting more into it, even went to participate in a few fight nights. This went on for a while until he called me into his office one day and told me that he was having a meeting for all his employees the next week and I was required to be there. So, I showed up and met everyone else. I also found out what I'd been hired for. He didn't need a doctor, he wanted a surgeon. Well, someone who had very fine motor skills and very steady hands and who was intelligent and could learn systems. I joined his team of criminal experts."

There was a small pause as Konan looked at Itachi expectantly, "you mean, you were just ok with stealing stuff?" he gave her an odd look.

She laughed, "of course not. But he can be a very persuasive speaker when he wants to be. And let's be honest here: he pays very well. I also learned something about myself in the time before I joined the rest of his team, that I like the thrill and I like the adrenaline rush. This city is so corrupt I don't mind taking money from people who don't deserve it."

Itachi looked away, so that's what I'm going to be doing? Stealing? It could be worse, he thought, it's not killing at least.

"Madara probably has a different plan for you though," Konan said almost as if she was reading his mind, "If I know anything about him, it's that he has a plan for exactly what he wants and what he needs."

"Great, so he already knows how he wants to use me." Itachi scowled and clenched his jaw.

"He also makes his plans mutually beneficial." Konan raised an eyebrow, "If he's the only person benefitting then no one would want to work for him. Odds are he knows what you need and is ready to make it available to you."

"How does he know what I need-"

"Sasuke?" Konan asked.

Itachi paused, it was true. Madara had said he could help. He didn't say how he would, but it had been a promise hadn't it? "How do I know I can trust him?" he leaned back against the wall and looked at Konan. Her hazel eyes softened and she smiled slightly, "When I first met him he was quiet, ruthless, and terrifying. You can't expect me to just forget all that because he decided that I was better off alive."

"Of course not." Konan smirked, "so you can bet he's gonna gain your trust first."

Itachi was quiet. Was Madara's trust something he wanted? It was like trying to rely on a volcano, just waiting for it to explode at you whenever it gets triggered. He put his plate down and leaned his back against the wall. "So, why you? Out of all the other students, why did he pick you?"

Konan sighed and leaned back, "I wondered the same thing you know. In my eyes I was just lucky, and for a while I thought that was it. I was OK with it too, because for once I had an opportunity purely through chance. I was wrong though, He chose me for a reason. I didn't find out until much later of course, but he'd been keeping track of my grades throughout undergrad. I still don't know how he found me in the first place, I probably never will, I guess that's weird. With Madara you always know that he knows something. He hears a rumor or a story and he tucks it away until he needs it."

"But he's using you." Itachi scowled up at Konan. There was no way someone could be ok with that, even normal people would be upset about it.

"We came to an agreement." Konan scowled back, "Just like you did. Look, I already work for Madara and I am cool with it. I've learned a lot and met people that I'm never going to forget. Working for him has been the best thing that happened to me. You can disagree, that's up to you, but don't ever try to convince me that my choice was the wrong one." There was a long awkward pause as she held Itachi's gaze and stared back into his red eyes. Her face softened, "Are you done with that?" she asked.

The comment threw Itachi off and he blinked in surprise, "yeah…" he glanced down at his plate. "Look, I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine." Konan picked up the plate of barely touched food and stood up, "You're coming from a bad situation, its normal to be sensitive to control after you've been fighting it for that long." She turned and walked to the door, "I'll be back in a minute." Then she left.

Itachi stared at the wall, the more he looked at it the more stains he could see. It was an old room definitely. Who had been here before? Did they want to be here? I don't want to be here. The thought stood out from the jumble of ideas running through his mind. He hurt, he was tired, he could feel the weight of murder on his shoulders, and worst of all the failure of the one thing he'd sworn to do: protect Sasuke. He clenched his jaw but he could feel the lump forming in his throat anyways. He was scared and helpless in a place that he knew nothing about and surrounded by people he didn't know. Everything seemed to be too calm to be real and all he could do was wait for reality to show its ugly face again. The longer he stared at the wall the worse he felt: panic, terror, and sadness all melting together and pouring out of his eyes. He didn't try to stop crying; he leaned his head back and let the tears slide down his face. He squeezed his eyes shut.

He didn't hear the door open or Konan come back into the room. He felt the mattress shift next to him and he opened his eyes. He sniffed and tried to wipe his face off.

Konan didn't say anything and just passed him a tissue. She sat next to him with her back against the wall. "When did you start learning how to fight?" she asked quietly.

Itachi was silent for a long time, "Third grade." He answered finally.

"Was it fun?" Konan rolled her head to the side and looked at Itachi.

"Yeah," Itachi paused, "I guess it was when I first started. It was something new to learn and I finally could do something with…" He didn't want to say it. "I really wanted to make him proud. He was teaching me the legacy of the family and I was going to be the best." he could feel the lump forming in his throat again.

Konan nodded, "How long was it fun for?"

"A few years I think. Maybe I was in tenth grade at the time, but he brought me to work with him. That's when I saw what he really did. Instead of all the lies and flowery stories that he told me about how the Uchiha held the town together." Itachi gazed at the white stained abyss of the wall.

Konan sat up and looked at Itachi, "What did you see?" she asked gently.

Itachi closed his eyes. He hadn't thought about it in a long time, he tried not to. Who wanted to relive the moment they saw their dad turn into a monster? He swallowed and opened his eyes again, "he had a resident of Konoha that hadn't paid their security fee in three months. It was before he changed it so that people were evicted after the first notice. He took me and one other person that worked for him and went to their house. It started out ok, they were polite and they begged him for another chance. He had the other guy take the wife out of the room." He could feel the tears gathering at the corners of his eyes again and his hands started to shake. "He grabbed the guy by the front of his shirt and hit him in the stomach then shoved him to the floor. I'm not even sure why he did it."

"You had to see that?" Konan asked quietly.

"He told me to kick him." Itachi said.

"What?"

Itachi covered his hands with his face, "I did. I kicked a person who hadn't done anything wrong. I just wanted him to be proud of me, so I hurt someone. I kicked him in the ribs until he bled then I punched him in the face and knocked him unconscious." He heard Konan gasp quietly, "I'd never hurt anyone before and even though after he took me home and told me how proud he was and how great a head of the family I was going to be, I couldn't get past it. I had everything that I wanted, but it hurt so much." He felt a hand touch his arm and he glanced over to see Konan looking at him with a comforting smile.

"It's ok. You don't have to say any more." She scooted to the edge of the mattress, "Let's lie you back down."

Itachi nodded, he was tired. Having to relive that memory had exhausted him and he was ready to sleep for weeks. Konan shifted the pillows back to a comfortable angle then helped Itachi lie back down.

"You kept fighting though, even after what you went through?" She had moved the chair back against the wall and picked up her empty coffee mug and headed towards the door.

"I couldn't stop." Itachi replied, "After that day I started having to fight to survive. My fa-… He didn't like it when I asked him why or when I asked questions about whether the family was hurting people or not. From then on he didn't know what to do with me except try to keep me in line." He stared vacantly into the distance.

Konan paused by the door, "you know, everyone you're going to meet here, everyone who works for Madara, we all have our own demons and our own stories. You're not alone here, I think you'll find that all of us are a lot more similar than you know. That goes for Madara too." She looked over and smiled, but it there was a sadness in her eyes, "get some rest, I'll be back in a few hours to check on you. I left the book if you want to read more of it." She turned to leave.

"Wait." Itachi raised his head, "Thank you. I know I just kind of look like a pathetic loser and I didn't mean to try to make you feel bad about your life, but thanks for being here and just… listening."

Konan turned and smiled, "You're welcome." She said, then disappeared through the door.

Itachi laid back and stared at the ceiling; he could feel fatigue making his eyelids heavy and slowing down his breathing. His brain was wide awake. It kept replaying that moment over and over again. He could still hear the man's screams and see the blood stains going up the sides of his shirt. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something else. He eventually drifted off to sleep, letting the sounds of the city traffic and the warm smell of spring calm down his nerves.


	16. It Was a Dark and Stormy Night

Thunder rumbled across the sky as Itachi stared out the cafeteria window. Dinner had been quiet since Orochimaru had insisted on reviewing his biology notes as much as possible and then going to the lab. Normally Friday nights would have been relaxing with Hidan and Anko until lab, but tonight the official lab time was cancelled because Dr. Ramona had conference on genetic illnesses, Hidan was off campus at a friend's house and Anko probably wouldn't want to hang out with just him.

Itachi sighed, he didn't mind being alone, it was relaxing after all the classes and hanging out. There was a flash of lightning and thunder rolled across the dark sky. A few stray raindrops hit the window pane next to him and the lights outside flicked on. Overall it was a calming night.

It was almost ten o'clock which meant that the cafeteria would be closing soon so Itachi stood and started to gather his things together. He shoved his book into his bag and cleared his plates and reached for his jacket. It wasn't there. Crap, he remembered, I left it in the room. He sighed again, if he ran fast enough he could still beat the worst of the rain.

He left the dining hall quickly and headed for the door to the building. When he got there he could see the deluge already picking up. He hesitated, considering just staying in the student center until it slowed down, but he was tired and wanted to go to sleep. He pushed the door open and stepped outside.

All he could see were blurry orbs of light in the rain. The downpour thundered against the sidewalk and the smell of wet pavement filled his nose. He shivered, the mid-October air was chilly and starting to feel more like winter. He looked down at his arms, his t-shirt wouldn't be much protection against the wet onslaught and his books would almost certainly be soaked in seconds. He set his jaw and took off at a run down the path toward the dorms.

It was an instant soaking: the rain hit his face and blurred his vision, his hair got damp and stuck to his neck and face, his jeans got heavy with water and his shoes squelched through puddles. He made it to his building in about three minutes at a dead sprint. He ran to the door as quickly as he could and fumbled with his ID to scan into the dorms. He swiped the card. Nothing happened. He tried again and again but it still wouldn't open.

The rain kept pouring down and he tried banging on the door, but no one was around the entrance. My phone, he thought, then dropped his bag and started to rummage through the pockets. He had the sneaking feeling that it wasn't there, of all the days to leave my phone in my room… he groaned. He tried his ID one last time, but the door still didn't budge.

He decided to try one of the back doors, sometimes students would smoke behind the building and leave the door propped open. He grabbed his bag and ran around the building through the wet grass. He didn't see a massive track of dirt, now completely saturated with rain. His foot slipped and out of nowhere his face was in the mud.

He lay there for a second, accepting the fact that he was now completely soaked and covered in mud. I should have stayed in the student center, he sighed and slowly got up. Running was useless now and he was already tired. Best save his energy and hope the back was open. He walked slowly towards the dumpster and a light that glowed above the back door. There was a figure standing under the awning slowly puffing a cigarette.

"Long walk back?" the figure snorted

"You could say that." Itachi sighed and entered the building.

He went straight for the stairs and shivered as the buildings air conditioning made the hairs on his arms stand up. At least his room was dry and warm and he could shower and finally go to sleep. Half way up the stairs an annoyingly familiar laugh pulled him away from his thoughts.

"Itachi, what the hell?" Anko was in her rain coat and boots and looked like she was heading outside.

He ignored her, not in the mood to be laughed at.

"Not even a hello? Somebody's grouchy." She raised an eyebrow and paused.

"I just want to go to sleep." Itachi mumbled, stepping around her and reaching his floor.

"Looks like you need it." Anko said and continued down the stairs, "see you tomorrow!"

Itachi kept walking down the hall and stopped in front of his room. He tried the door knob but it was locked, apparently Orochimaru was still out. This was probably a good thing. He unlocked the door and stepped in, breathing a sigh of relief to be in his own space at last. He pulled his water-logged books out of his backpack to dry them, grabbed his towel, and headed to the shower.

He took his time, letting the hot water soak into his limbs and chase out the wet rainy chill. He scrubbed the mud off his face and arms and then stood, relaxing under the steamy stream. Afterward, he dried himself off and pulled on dry clothes and squeezed the water out of his long hair.

He walked back to his room and dropped his soaking clothes into the laundry basket, dried his hair one more time, and crawled under his covers. He was warm, dry, and comfortable and fell asleep within minutes of lying down.

.:.

There was a faint alarm sound in the background. Itachi groaned and rolled over. The sound seemed so far away he didn't want to believe that it was actually his alarm. The sound persisted in the distance and seemed to grow louder the longer he let it go. He groaned again and reached over, turning off the alarm on his phone.

His head felt thick and heavy and he sniffled. He coughed quietly to try and stop his throat from tickling. He leaned against the head of his bed, slouching across his pillow, all motivation to get up and get the day started was gone.

It was Saturday so Oro wouldn't be awake for a while and he usually used this time to jog or walk just to clear his mind and get ready for another week of classes. He pushed the blankets back and thought about getting up; he shivered. He slowly swung one leg over the side and let his toes touch the cold floor. He sat on the edge of his bed trying to convince himself to stand up and do something. Maybe being busy would make him feel better. He stood up but it was too fast and he felt his head start to tingle and white spots floated into his vision and he landed back sitting on the side of the bed again.

He sighed, maybe I could sleep in just this once. he pulled his blankets back up and snuggled down into the warmth and fell asleep almost as soon as he closed his eyes.

.:.

Orochimaru opened his eyes and sighed, the best days were the ones where he didn't have class and he could just do his own projects. He rolled over and sat up, stretching his arms above his head and yawning. He stood up slowly and walked over to his desk to check his phone: it was almost 10. At least I didn't sleep too late today, he thought and picked up his comb and started gently untangling his hair. It was the one thing he was determined to keep nice and glossy, a habit he'd picked up from his uncle. He ran his fingers through the long shiny black locks. He smiled at his reflection as he flipped his hair over his shoulder and pulled on a t-shirt. It wasn't that he was a judgmental person, but there were some roommate habits about Itachi that he couldn't stand, the main one being that he showered at night and slept on his wet hair then woke up and pulled it back. No brushing, no combing, nothing. It usually looked a little frizzy and messy. He rolled his eyes at the thought, all that long hair with so much potential and was like he didn't even care.

He finished getting dressed and was about to feed Karin when a loud sneeze almost made him jump through the roof. Orochimaru whipped around. He didn't see anyone. He stared around the room trying to see something out of place. His eyes scanned across from his side of the dorm to Itachi's, then he saw it. Itachi's bed was a mess. The large pile of blankets sneezed again followed by a round of coughing.

Orochimaru cautiously walked over and peeked under the blankets, "Itachi?" he whispered, "Are you ok?"

There was a long silence, then another sneeze, "I'm good." Was the hoarse response.

"Are you sure? Because you don't sound good…" Orochimaru stepped back as Itachi rolled over to face him.

Itachi's eyes were half open and his nose was bright red and his skin was paler than normal and beaded with sweat. "Yeah, just sleeping….in…" He sneezed again, "a little bit."

Orochimaru squinted his eyes, "I'm gonna get breakfast, you want anything?"

"Nah, I'll just go with you. I slept in too late anyways." Itachi sat up, his head felt heavy but he blinked through it and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"I think you should just stay in bed today." Orochimaru hesitated, "I'll grab you something, just relax."

"I'm fine, it's just allergies or something. We have an exam coming up." He sniffled and tried to stand up but fell back to sitting on the edge of the bed. "Could you grab me some clothes?"

"Sure…" Orochimaru walked to the closet and pulled out one of the many pairs of black jeans and a t-shirt. "Are these good?"

"I can't really see what you're holding up but I'm sure it's fine. Also if you could grab the sweatshirt in the corner? And my necklace from the desk?" Orochimaru brought the clothes over and stood back watching Itachi stand unsteadily and change. "Thanks." He finished and leaned against the wall to steady himself. "Do you… do you think you could fasten this for me?" he held up the necklace.

"Sure." Orochimaru replied quietly and walked over then brushed the tangled mass of dark brown hair to the side and quickly latched the necklace around Itachi's neck. "Where did you get that necklace? You wear it every day."

Itachi sneezed and would have fallen forward if Orochimaru hadn't caught his shoulder, "it's… a family thing." He brushed the question off and walked unsteadily to the door. "I need tea, let's go." Then he walked into the door.

Oro stifled a laugh, "you are not ok… but doors work better when you open them." He quickly walked over and turned the doorknob and directed Itachi through.

"I was gonna open it." Itachi muttered, letting Orochimaru gently pull him towards the stairs.

It was a long walk to the dining hall that morning, Itachi kept stopping and sneezing then walking slowly forward. They finally reached building and Itachi had to stop and breathe. After a five minute break they entered and walked to the dining hall.

As they walked in the wall of sound hit Itachi. It felt like he was standing in a fishbowl. The smell of food making his stomach growl but his throat hurt and he just wanted tea, It could fix almost everything. He vaguely felt something tugging him… somewhere? He blinked a few times and saw Orochimaru pulling him towards the hot drink counter.

"Ok, how do you make this stuff?" Oro asked, grabbing a mug and filling it with hot water.

"You just put the thing in and let it sit for a while." Itachi sneezed.

"Alright, but what thing?" Oro raised an eyebrow and cast Itachi a puzzled look.

"The little baggy thing with leaves in it." gestured vaguely toward a rack of small cardboard boxes.

"But… there's so many different ones…" Oro's eyes widened. He saw one labeled "Sick Days" and grabbed it, ripping it open and dropping it into the hot water. "Do I add anything to it?"

"What kind did you make? Because it really depends." Itachi coughed into his sleeve and almost fell forward coughing so hard.

"Ugh why can't you just drink coffee like a human?" Oro sighed and rolled his eyes, he grabbed the bottle of honey and squeezed a massive glob into the mug and stirred. "ok, this should be good." He grabbed some food and made himself a coffee then headed to the sitting area. He chose a table near the window, the usual place they sat, and helped Itachi into a chair.

"I'm fine." Itachi groaned, "I don't need you to baby me."

"I disagree, but when you can walk by yourself you can argue with me." Oro sighed and pushed a plate of food across the table.

"Sup guys?" Hidan walked over and dropped his plate on the table with a loud bang making Itachi jump, then sat down.

"Nothing much yet." Orochimaru sighed and took a few bites.

Itachi didn't say anything and slowly sipped the "tea" that Orochimaru had made, "What the hell did you put in this?" he asked hoarsely.

"It's tea. I'm not really sure what it is…" Oro looked up nervously.

"Are you ok dude?" Hidan asked, now that he was looking at him Itachi looked half dead.

Itachi sneezed in response. Then took another sip of the liquid that was in his mug, it smelled like an awful mix of bitter herbs and heated citrus with a sickly sweet after taste.

Hidan turned to Orochimaru, "he is not ok."

"I know."

"Can you please stop saying that I'm not ok! I'm fine!" Itachi scowled then had another coughing fit.

"Totally fine." Hidan replied, his face unamused.

"Good morning boys!" Anko pulled out a chair and sat down between Itachi and Hidan. "Damn Itachi, you look like hell. Is that from last night?" she started to eat her food.

"I'm fine!" Itachi tried to yell but his voice was barely a whisper, "It's just allergies can you ple…." His voice disappeared and no one heard the rest of what he was going to say. The other three stared at him as he tried to talk but no sound came out of his mouth.

"You were saying?" Anko asked.

"I'm telling you, dude, you are sick." Hidan looked at him sideways, "How did you even get out of bed?" he turned to Orochimaru and scowled.

"He wouldn't listen to me!" Oro scowled back, "I tried to tell him to stay this morning."

They all turned back to Itachi and he stared guiltily down into his mug of tea, his cheeks turning bright red. Why were they getting mad at him? I'm fine, he thought, a little under the weather but that's nothing I haven't ignored before.

Hidan reached over and put his wrist against his forehead. Itachi flinched and pulled back at the contact. Hidan rolled his eyes and held Itachi's head against his wrist again. His eyes widened, "Holy shit. You need to go see the nurse."

"Is it that bad?" Orochimaru looked up in concern.

"I wouldn't be surprised if his fever was over 100." Hidan frowned.

Itachi shook his head no and sneezed. There was no way he was going to see some quack who worked on a college campus. Besides, doctors just weren't something he did.

"Well I'm not gonna let you sit there and suffer in silence while you burst into flames because you're not taking fever reducers." Hidan scowled. "Come on Oro, let's bring him to health services."

"I don't think he wants to go…" Orochimaru glanced Itachi then back at Hidan, "I think there something illegal about bringing someone to the doctor against their will."

"Do you care about that or your friend?" Hidan looked incredulous.

"I want to help him, but if he refuses then we shouldn't do it!"

"Uh, guys…"

"Fine! Don't help, but I'm not gonna just do nothing." Hidan's voice was getting louder.

"I'm not gonna do nothing either! But I can take care of him myself!" Orochimaru's voice was getting louder as well.

"Guys!" Anko stood up and slammed a fist on the table. Hidan and Oro stopped yelling at each other and turned to face her, "Can you please stop arguing and consider the current situation?" she pointed at Itachi who had passed out face first into his plate of food.

"Shit!" Hidan jumped up and ran around the table to where Itachi was and picked his friend up out his breakfast.

Orochimaru Stared wide-eyed at the scene, how could he have not known that his friend was that sick?

"Ok, we need to get him back to his room." Anko took charge and grabbed their stuff from the table, "he said no doctors so we won't take him until we can ask him again. But we need to bring the fever down."

"Agreed," Hidan nodded and all three of them started dragging Itachi toward the exit while getting some odd looks from the others in the cafeteria.

They managed to drag him back to the dorms while he muttered nonsense words about sharingans and poison. At one point Orochimaru could have sworn he heard him say "no dad I don't want sharingans anymore." Which he thought was strange but Itachi was delirious so he didn't think twice about it.

When they reached the third floor of the dorms they headed straight for the bathrooms, "if we can get him to cool off it may help," Anko suggested and they managed to lie him across the sinks.

"I don't think his head will fit under the faucet." Hidan stated, then had to move to catch Itachi as he thrashed and rolled off the side.

"We could just get a wet rag." Orochimaru suggested.

"I don't think it's enough," Anko frowned, "Help me get his sweatshirt off." They pulled the heavy sweatshirt over Itachi's head. After they all looked down at Itachi still unconscious on the floor. "What if we put him in the shower with cold water?" Anko suggested.

"Or a damp rag on his face could work," Oro tried again.

"Shower it is." Hidan announced and started pulling Itachi to the stall. Anko joined in and grabbed Itachi's waist. Orochimaru rolled his eyes and grabbed Itachi's legs and the three of them sat him up on the shelf and turned the cold water on full blast.

They all stood staring and waiting in anticipation. Itachi started coughing and his eyes fluttered open. "W-what the hell… I thought it was only raining outside…" He sneezed and fell forward.

Anko managed to catch him before he hit the opposite wall. "Damn you're heavy." She grunted. Oro reached over and helped her get him out from under the frozen stream.

"What are you guys doing anyways?" Itachi pushed off of Anko and Oro to stand up on his own and steadied himself against the wall.

"Dude you passed out in your breakfast." Hidan raised an eyebrow at him. "We had to do something."

"All you could come up with was shoving me in the shower?" He sneezed again and noticed Anko was just staring at him, her face turning bright red. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," she stammered then covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, "Just didn't realize how ripped you were… got some rock hard abs there."

Itachi's face turned bright red and he swallowed looking down at his shirt which happened to be the only white t-shirt he owned and was currently soaking wet and plastered to his torso. "Um…I…uh…" He stammered.

"They're not that impressive," Hidan rolled his eyes.

"Yes they are." Anko looked at him, smirking. "Unless of course yours are better?"

"I am a classy gentleman, Anko. I don't let women undress me and I definitely don't feel the need to reveal my physique to attract their attention. Unlike some certain parties who I won't name." He glanced at Itachi.

"Please don't drag me into your flirting." Itachi's face was still bright red, which might have been from the fever. He swayed dangerously, "Can I please put on dry clothes now?" He started coughing again.

"Come on, I'll bring you back to the room." Oro spoke up for the first time. He let Itachi lean on him and they walked toward the door to the bathroom.

"Don't get started without Anko!" Hidan shouted, "She won't wanna miss this!" They heard a loud smack as Anko slapped Hidan.

"I'm not a perv! I have three brothers, you think I've never seen a muscular guy before?" Anko's voice drifted out of the bathroom as they continued down the hall.

Itachi and Orochimaru got back to the room and Itachi peeled off yet another round of soaking wet clothes. And pulled on another sweatshirt and athletic shorts and socks. He sighed and sat at his desk about to flip open a text book when Orochimaru stopped him.

"Wait."

"Why? I'm awake and miserable, may as well be awake, miserable, and productive."

"Can I…please… comb out your hair?" Orochimaru looked determined.

There was an awkward pause, "What?" Then sneezing.

"It's so messy and you never do anything about it and it physically hurts to look at." Oro glanced at the floor awkwardly.

Itachi leaned back and stared at the ceiling, "What, is today 'let's try to fix everything we don't like about Itachi and make him feel massively uncomfortable' day? Is it because I can't escape you people because I'm too weak to run?"

"No!" Oro shook his head, "but if you don't take care of it why don't you just cut it off? It would be easier if it was shorter…"

"No!" Itachi almost shouted but his voice cut off short and he started coughing again.

"Why not?"

"Just because." Itachi opened his biology textbook and tried to ignore Oro.

"That's not a reason." He tossed the comb onto Itachi's desk. "Please?"

Itachi sighed and closed his eyes, "fine." He picked up the comb and started to yank at the knots.

Orochimaru sat at his own desk, "I grew mine out because I didn't like people seeing my face. I could hide my eyes behind my bangs. After a while it just became part of me, my uncle didn't care and I like having my privacy in public places." Itachi was silent as he struggled with a rather large tangle. "I thought about cutting it once. I even tried. Someone told me that I should stop hiding and that confidence was important to making friends. But that wasn't me."

"My father hates it." Itachi pulled a few smaller knots out, "My mom's hair is pretty much the same as mine. I'd rather look like her than ever be told I look like him." He finished one half of his hair and moved on to the next.

"Why don't you brush it, though?" Oro asked quietly.

"Because I don't think about it?" he was quiet for a minute as he brushed out another fantastically large tangle, "I have other things on my mind."

"Well, it looks a lot nicer now." Orochimaru smiled, "If you ever need the comb I keep it on the desk."

"O-ok." Itachi didn't quite know how to react.

They sat in silence and did work for a while, the only sound being sneezes and the occasional coughing fit from Itachi and the sound of raindrops hitting the window. It rained most of the day so they stayed in the warm dorm room. There really wasn't any reason to leave their small square of solitude.

Early in the afternoon there was a knock on the door and when Orochimaru checked it all that was there was a shoebox with a note on top and a travel mug next to it. The note read: "For my boy with the sick abs, keep lifting ;) signed Anko and Hidan P.S. The chips are for Oro and Hidan does actually have nice abs. get rest!" Itachi turned red all over again but still gladly accepted the tea, fever reducers, and cough drops in the box.

That night Itachi went to sleep early, his fever had gone down significantly since the morning and his throat wasn't as sore. As he lay facing the wall to avoid the light from Orochimaru's reading lamp, he smiled. He was glad he had friends that could see through his pretending to be ok. It was a new feeling, but it was a good one.


	17. Stuck Together (filler)

There was a long pause. Neither Itachi nor Fugaku said anything. Itachi closed his eyes and pretended he was anywhere else. They had been at the tea shop to pick up some more black tea before heading home, of course they HAD to come right when a man dressed in a black hoodie and a black mask decided to hold up the shop.

"Did he say he had the key?" Fugaku growled. They were sitting on the floor with their hands cuffed together around a pipe for the heater.

Itachi glanced sideways at his father, "if he had the key he wouldn't have given it to you." He tugged a little hoping the pipe was loose, it wasn't. The two of them had been the only customers at the time of the robbery and the owner had been in the back. "if we pull hard enough we could break the handcuffs…"

"And maybe pull a wrist off." Fugaku gave a frustrated tug, slamming Itachi's hand against the pipe.

Itachi scowled, "if we had just gone straight home none of this would have happened. But no, you had to get tea. We aren't even running out at home!"

"Well if you paid attention to your surroundings more someone wouldn't have snuck up behind you."

"He snuck up on you too."

There was another long silence. "Do you have your phone?"

Itachi closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall, of all the times he could have forgotten it… "I think I left it at home…" he whispered.

"This is ridiculous. If he had any idea who he was messing with…"

"If he'd known who you were you'd probably be dead or being held for ransom. You should be glad he wasn't from here." Itachi said absently, staring at the shelves lined with jars of tea leaves. "Mom will probably miss you eventually."

Almost as soon as the words escaped his mouth the door to the shop shook. They both looked over, stretching to see through the window. There was a smash as the window in the door broke open and a gloved hand reached in and unlocked the door. They watched the hand disappear again then the door slowly swing open.

"Well that's something I never thought I'd ever see." Madara smirked and looked down at Itachi and Fugaku. "I'm guessing no one had their phone? Or were you just too proud to call for help?" He laughed, "Not that I would gloat… excessively."

"Madara. Just. Find. Something. To. Break. The. Lock. With." Fugaku was starting to turn purple.

"I don't know, it looks like you two were enjoying some father-son bonding time, I wouldn't want to cut that short." He smiled.

Fugaku moved to attack Madara, forgetting about his wrist. He got half way up but was stopped short. Itachi yelled as his wrist got slammed into the pipe for the second time.

"Oh, I forgot. Your friend was trying to make a get a way." Madara slipped an unconscious figure off his shoulder.

"Check his pockets." Itachi reached for the figure.

"They're empty." Madara looked a little bored, "Unless you're looking for these?" he dangled a small set of keys just out of Itachi's reach.

"Hand them over." Fugaku's voice was steady but starting to hit a low octave that meant danger. "Do it now."

"And miss out on this moment? You must be crazy. I have the head of the Uchiha family stuck to his least favorite person in the world on the floor of a shop and I'm the only one who can get you out. Don't tell me that you wouldn't act the same if it were me stuck down there?" Madara smirked and leaned against the counter.

Itachi felt his anger starting to grow in the pit of his stomach, he knew that he didn't like his father and more than his father didn't like him, but hearing someone else say it hurt.

"What, no witty come backs from either of you? I'm surprised." Madara raised an eyebrow.

Fugaku closed his eyes, "You have until the count of ten…."

"I'm so scared!" Madara pretended to cower in fear.

"One." Fugaku started counting.

"Oh please, don't mock me." Madara laughed.

"Two." There was an icy pause, "Three."

"Well I see you're serious about this." Madara sighed, "in that case," he reached over and held the keys just out of Fugaku's reach.

"Four." Fugaku slowly turned red.

"Can you not reach?" Madara smirked and shook the keys slightly.

"Five."

Itachi tried to slip his hand out of the handcuffs. It was uncomfortable sitting in a room with his father staring daggers at Madara who was just mocking him.

"Six…" Fugaku's voice was hitting that dangerous low octave it hit before he broke something.

"I'm not an unreasonable person. I am also willing to negotiate and my demands really aren't anything ridiculous." Madara tilted his head to the side and smiled.

Fugaku paused, "and what would those demands be?" his scowl was so deep Itachi thought it might become permanent.

"Ice cream."

"What." Fugaku's face went from a scowl to not amused.

"Buy me ice cream. Your family is healthy all the time and you can't expect some weakling like me to come in to live with you from the outside world and not want things I used to be able to eat." Madara made a mocking pouty face.

"Buy it yourself." Fugaku went back to scowling.

"Oh Fugaku, is your pride so much that you can't do one small thing for your uncle? Who so selflessly came to help you?" Madara's hand started to pull the key back.

"Oh my goodness just do it." Itachi cast a sideways look at his father.

"Fine." Fugaku took a deep breath, "We will buy you ice cream on our way back AFTER you give me that key."

Madara smiled his I-am-definitely-going-to-use-this-against-you smile and dropped the key into Fugaku's lap. "Good choice, I think some of your subordinates are coming down the street, wouldn't want them to see you like that now would we?"

Fugaku quickly unlocked the handcuffs and stood up. Then slipped the key into his pocket. Itachi stood up with the handcuffs still dangling off his wrist, "There's two sides to these you know…" he muttered but didn't ask directly for the key.

"Let's just go to the store." Fugaku growled and exited. Madara glanced down at Itachi's still imprisoned wrist and raised an eyebrow, then followed Fugaku. Itachi sighed and exited the shop as well, then followed the two down the sidewalk, hoping that no one would ask why he had handcuffs clanging along at his side.


	18. Chapter 18

Itachi gazed out the kitchen window apprehensive about the argument he knew was coming. He'd done the unthinkable by accident and now it was time to pay. His eyes drifted to the counter where his mom had been standing making dinner just a few minutes before. His eyes continued to drift down to the ground where her lifeless body now lay.

It hadn't been messy. There was no blood and somehow the kitchen looked untouched. He had been surprised when she didn't struggle. Their eyes had met and she'd smiled. He closed his eyes and choked back the urge to throw up. How could he have done it? How could he have squeezed the life out of the one person that loved him and protected him without even knowing what he was doing?

The initial shock had passed in seconds and he'd collapsed into the only chair in the room. He wanted to leave, to desperately flee into the darkness, but it wasn't like there was a door that let him come and go at will.

But he knew what was coming. At the same time every day without fail. It was almost time now, about a minute to go. He squeezed his eyes shut and hoped that today it wouldn't happen, that maybe the universe wouldn't work against him for just a little while.

In the distance he heard the thump of a door. It was time. He felt his hands start to shake and his mouth get dry. He gagged again but swallowed hard so he wouldn't vomit. Why? Why can't I leave? The thoughts buzzed through his head, but he was frozen in place.

"What the hell." A deep voice reverberated through the room.

Itachi squeezed his eyes shut again wishing the voice away, but instead of leaving the sound bounced off the walls for what felt like an eternity. He felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder and pull the chair around so he was staring into his father's blood red eyes.

"You killed my wife." The accusatory statement piercing his gut like a knife.

"I-I didn't mean to! I don't know what happened!" Itachi's voice was raspy and quiet. "She just was there and then fell over…"

"Bullshit." Fugaku sneered then pulled his arm back and punched Itachi's jaw.

Itachi knew better than to acknowledge that he felt pain. Instead he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to ignore the familiar sharp ache of the bruise forming.

"Every day it's the same story. I thought you'd come up with a better excuse by now but I guess you're just too stupid." Fugaku folded his arms and looked down at his son. "Stand up."

It was always the same, "I can't." Itachi whispered.

"I said stand up." Fugaku's voice got louder.

"I can't." Itachi could barely hear his own voice.

"Stand up!"

Itachi flinched and tried to move but his feet were stuck to the floor and his back felt glued to the chair.

Fugaku growled and kicked the chair over smashing it to pieces against the floor and sending Itachi rolling into the corner. He lay stunned for a second then slowly and shakily stood up.

"Dad, please don't hurt me anymore… I didn't mean to…"

"Don't you EVER call me that again." Fugaku snarled and walked slowly towards the corner.

Itachi tried to move away but his back was pressed against the wall, "I don't know what happened… she just fell…" he stammered.

Fugaku grabbed the front of his son's shirt and slammed him against the wall. He pulled forward and spun around throwing Itachi across the kitchen. Itachi scrambled to stay balanced but tripped over his mom's dead body. His head hit the edge of the counter and his vision blurred for a few seconds. While he was disoriented he felt a tug at the back of his head.

"You don't deserve to look like her." Fugaku grabbed a fistful of Itachi's hair, "I don't want to look at you and be reminded of the woman I love or the family I made." He grabbed a knife that was resting on the counter.

"No!" Itachi screamed and tried to pull away but Fugaku pulled back harder.

In one swift motion his father brought the knife up. There was an awful squealing-slicing sound and Itachi felt himself fall forward. A massive weight was gone from his head. The rest of his hair fell over his face. He felt something wet drip down his cheek and he wiped it away with his sleeve expecting it to be tears. It was blood.

A burning anger started to fester in his stomach. This wasn't right, no one should have to go through this every day. Maybe he'd tried before and couldn't remember but if he did nothing now he'd regret it forever. He pulled himself up and turned around to face Fugaku. He saw the black mass of his hair slowly falling strand by strand to the floor. "I'm leaving." He growled.

Fugaku laughed, "There's no door."

"I'll make one." Itachi scowled and launched himself at his father.

There was a flurry of blows and kicks as the two rolled across the floor scrambling to take control of the knife and gain the upper hand.

Itachi felt his hand brush the handle of the knife. He closed his hand around it. It was now or never. He stabbed.

The surprise registered on Fugaku's face first, his eyes growing wide and his jaw going slack. Itachi stumbled backwards, taking in what he saw. He'd done it, he could leave. He whipped his head around looking frantically for an exit but the gray peeling walls just stared back at him; even the window was gone.

An explosive stinging pain erupted from his stomach. His attention snapped back to fugaku who was crouched over holding a wound pouring blood all over the floor with one hand and shoving the knife into Itachi's stomach with the other.

"Nice try." Fugaku smirked, then his body fell over with a thump that echoed throughout the small room.

Itachi was left standing alone, desperately trying to stop the deluge of blood pouring from a brand new hole in his torso. I can make it, I can survive this and get out of here, he told himself and staggered to the wall in search of an exit.

There was a grating sound behind him and as he turned around he saw the walls slide apart. A faint hope flickered in his chest as he slowly made his way toward the opening. He squinted into the blackness and saw a figure coming toward him. As it came closer he felt despair clouding his heart.

Fugaku stepped into the room; his clothes bloodstained but aside from that he looked as if he'd just gotten a good night's sleep. "Stupid child." He sneered.

"H-how…" Itachi looked from Fugaku to Fugaku's corpse lying on the floor.

Fugaku cracked his neck and strode forward, grabbing Itachi's neck and slamming him into the wall, "No matter what I do you just don't seem to die, everyday it's the same. But no matter how many times you think you've killed me I'll always come back. We're locked together, Itachi, we can't exist without each other."

"No!" Itachi screamed and struggled against the vice-like grip around his throat slowly squeezing his windpipe closed, "I'll find a way out! I hate this, I hate you!"

"You'll never leave." Fugaku squeezed until he heard a crack.

Itachi knew he should be dead, but he wasn't. The pain rocketed down his limbs and whole body felt like it was going to explode. He felt a scream start from somewhere deep inside and it reverberated through his broken throat and escaped his lips. The sound bounced off the walls around him making them crack and crumble into dust. As he felt what might have been his last breath trickle out of his mouth his eyes shut leaving only the twisted sneer of his father's face imprinted on his brain.

.:.

There was a loud thump from the other room that caused Madara's head to snap up from the paper he was reading. He let out a sigh and stood up at his desk, pulling out his phone and dialing the first number in his call history.

The phone rang for a few minutes then a groggy voice picked up, "I know I work for you, but it's 3 AM and doctors need sleep too."

"It happened again." Madara replied shortly, "I think it's time to start fixing it." he walked toward the door and quietly crossed the hallway.

"You could try to take care of it once and a while you know," Konan yawned into the phone, "I know you're bad with people but it might help."

"I'd rather not, for…"

"Personal reasons, I know. I'll be there soon, for now just see if you can do anything." Konan hung up before Madara could get in another word.

He sighed and put his phone away, then slowly pushed open the door to Itachi's room. When he entered he saw his great nephew thrashing on the floor. He was covered in sweat and hyperventilating in his sleep. He heard Itachi scream and his face started to get paler than it already was.

Madara took a step forward and knelt down next to Itachi gently placing a hand on his shoulder to hold him still. "Itachi, wake up." Nothing changed. "Itachi!" he tried a little louder, feeling a bit hesitant to yell, still nothing. He sighed and grabbed a glass of water from the desk in the room. "You'll thank me for this someday." He said then dumped the entire contents on Itachi's face.

Itachi's eyes snapped open and he froze. His head slowly rolled to the side until they met Madara's then they widened in terror.

"Itachi," Madara started, "You were having a nightmare."

"I can't be awake…" Itachi panted, his voice raspy and barely audible, "If I was awake you wouldn't be here."

Madara blinked and took in a sharp breath, it wasn't totally unwarranted. "you're awake." He sat down on the floor next to Itachi, "Konan told me to wait until she got here."

Itachi blinked; his breathing was starting to slow down again. He wordlessly picked himself off the floor so he was sitting leaning against his mattress.

There was an awkward pause, "so… what was it about?" Madara asked, glancing at the door to look for Konan.

"Nothing." Itachi muttered and brushed a clump of sweat-soaked hair off his face.

Madara nodded, it was no more than he expected. He was probably the main player in whatever nightmare Itachi was having. He sighed, "Is it the same one over and over again?"

Itachi glanced sideways at Madara and hesitated, "yeah." He looked down letting his hair fall over his shoulders and cover his face, "I just… I'll never be able to move past it."

"Your parents?" Madara asked, he glanced at the door again wishing that Konan would walk in and take over, this was not his thing.

"It's just that… he's not alive… but he's not dead either."

Madara leaned back until his head rested on the leg of the desk. Fugaku had somehow managed to rip apart the psyche of one of his children. What a shock.

The door opened and the smell of coffee flowed in followed by a half-awake Konan, "Is Itachi awake yet?"

"Yeah," Itachi answered before Madara could.

Konan walked over and joined the two of them on the floor, "ok." She turned to Itachi, "Anyone who has been through a traumatic event experiences consequences. It's most commonly referred to as Post Traumatic Stress, it can cause nightmares and triggered reactions to…"

"I know." Itachi cut her off, "you've told me this before. Knowing what it is doesn't make it stop."

Konan cleared her throat, "As I was saying: these things take time to be fully healed if they ever are. It's not going to happen overnight. What I can do right now is give you sleeping meds."

"I don't want any more pills!" Itachi felt frustration building inside his chest. "I just want to stop seeing him!" He grabbed the sides of his head and squeezed his eyes shut, "Every time I sleep, every time I blink, every time my mind wanders… he's always there… haunting me… why can't he just be dead!?"

Madara slowly moved to stand up, this was why he had Konan, the best thing he could do was just leave and let it play out. He was almost completely standing when there was an annoyed tug on his arm.

Konan glared at him and shook her head "no". Then she turned her head to Itachi, "the sleeping meds will take away our nightmares and help you get the rest you need to finish healing. They're the strongest ones I can prescribe." She turned to Madara and mouthed the words "say something".

Madara looked at the small shaking figure of his great nephew, there was a small pang of sadness. It felt like he was looking backwards in time, "the Uchiha family is shit." He stated, "Forget them. The only thing you should focus on is what you want to do about Sasuke and Orochimaru." Madara ignored another pointed glance from Konan and stood up, "sleep is important to your health and your mental state, take the pills so I don't have to keep waking up at 3 AM to your screaming."

"Wake up?" Konan asked incredulously, "you get the least amount of sleep I've ever seen a human being get. I'm pretty sure your body is 86% caffeine instead of water." Konan smirked.

"Regardless of my personal habits," Madara interrupted, "Itachi needs sleep."

Itachi glanced up at his great uncle, there had been a change in the stony practical exterior for a brief second. "I don't know…"

Madara paused and turned to face Itachi from the doorway, "how has your stomach been?"

"What?" the question was unexpected.

"Your Menetrier's disease, how is it?"

"Madara I don't see what that has to do with anything right now…" Konan raised an eyebrow.

"I haven't felt it at all." Itachi furrowed his brow.

"Good, then your medication is working." Madara smiled.

"I guess, yeah…" Madara's smile was unsettling.

"If the other medication we gave you is doing its job and you now don't suffer from those symptoms then maybe we know what we're talking about when it comes to your medication so you should trust us a little more." Madara leaned against the door frame.

Itachi stared at his uncle considering what he'd just heard. It made logical sense, of course, but that wasn't what bothered him. "What if the dreams are still there regardless? What if I'm having a nightmare and can't wake up…?"

"I promise you won't be thinking about a thing." Konan put a hand on his arm, "It will be like being unconscious except sleeping. But there's no way you'll know if it works if you don't try it. As your doctor I need you to trust me."

But I'm scared, Itachi thought about every possible bad scenario flashing through his mind at high speed. "I guess… it couldn't hurt to try for one night." He said aloud

Konan smiled but her eyes were tired, "Thank you for letting us help you." She said while handing him a medicine bottle, "take half a pill tonight and a whole one every night after that before you go to sleep. Never take it on an empty stomach and always take it with water." She stood up, "now I need to go home and sleep."

Konan walked toward the door and left the room, closing the door quietly behind her, then she turned and glared at Madara, "Look. If you want to help him you have to actually try."

"You're doing fine yourself." Madara said, turning away to go back to his room.

"Oh hell no." Konan grabbed his shoulder, "He's not scared of me! With you it's different. I know you told me about his dad, but you're almost being just as bad as him! If you want him to trust you then stop hiding behind logical facts and give him a reason to trust you." Konan scowled, "I can do my job and help him heal from the past, but for that to work you need to treat him different than his dad did."

Madara whipped around and glared down at Konan, "don't compare me to that piece of shit."

"Then don't give me a reason to!" Konan glared back, "Look, you know that working for you has been more like having a family to me than my parents ever were, but he needs that too." Konan stopped glaring and smiled sideways, "I know you see something in him, maybe you should tell him."

Madara closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, "I hate how observant and smart you are sometimes."

"More than sometimes." "Konan retorted.

"Fine," Madara sighed, "I'll try and see what I can do, but I'm not getting behind on work because of it."

"Fine." Konan nodded, "But right now I want you to talk to him until he falls asleep."

"What."

"He needs to calm down more and he's still uncertain about the sleeping meds. Make him feel more comfortable."

Madara sighed again, "Only because you're the best doctor I know."

"I'm the only doctor you know." Konan said as she walked down the stairs.

Madara shrugged, she wasn't wrong. He took a deep breath and walked back into Itachi's room. He looked down at his nephew lying on his side staring at the floor with wide eyes. The streetlight outside casting his shadow across the floorboards.

"You'd sleep better if you closed your eyes." Madara said as he pulled over the desk chair. Itachi didn't respond, "I remember meeting you for the first time," He leaned back in the chair, "your shoulder was injured then but I didn't find out until the next day. You're very good at hiding pain for someone your age." He stared out the window, "I guess that's partly my fault, all those things you were taught growing up were things I had to learn and what I passed down to… him."

Itachi sniffed and rolled to face the wall. He'd taken half a pill but he was starting to feel it working in his system.

"No, I don't think you ever struggled with being in control. I was never like that, probably why I am where I am today. No one could trust me because I was too volatile. You had some explosive moments though, to be honest I never expected you to do what you did." He heard faint rhythmic breathing coming from the bed, "I thought you'd work for me under different circumstances. I suppose if you ever found out what I did to get you here you'd never forgive me, even I don't think I could give you a reason to trust me if you knew. It had to be done for your sake. I'm not sorry, I just hope you never have to know." Madara stood and walked to the door, "maybe I am sorry, but the ends justify the means." He said and left the room quietly closing the door behind him.

He entered the hallway and pulled out his phone and dialed another number then waited patiently while it rang.

"Madara…shouldn't you be sleeping?" The voice on the other end sounded groggy.

"That's a matter of opinion. I'd like to ask you for a favor…"

.:.

Itachi's eyes fluttered open. It was an odd sensation to wake up from the deepest sleep he'd ever had. It had been about a month since he'd woken up in this room for the first time, a lot of his physical injuries had healed since then and for the first time since he could remember he felt mostly whole. Maybe sleep does help, he thought.

Konan had cleared him to walk around on his own almost a week ago, since then he'd wandered through the entire apartment multiple times. She didn't think he was steady enough to go outside yet, but he stared out the windows. Mist city was huge and it was almost torture to be in a building surrounded with places he'd never seen and not be able to experience any of it.

He rolled out of bed and stood up slowly, it was nice to not have to rely on Konan for everything anymore. He looked down at the over-sized t-shirt and shorts that he considered to be "pajamas". They were Madara's and he hated how loosely the fit on his small frame and made him look like a little kid. He had no idea where his clothes or even his belongings were, as far as he knew they were still back in Konoha in his old house.

Itachi stretched his arms and limped towards the door. His knee had been the worst injury, from what he understood he'd somehow torn one of the tendons in the joint and it required a brace all the time. He slowly walked down the stairs and took a left into the kitchen. He still thought it was strange that there were stairs in the house, in his old house the only staircase had been to the basement.

Itachi let out a sigh of relief, the apartment was empty which meant no awkward silence around Madara and no talking about his family with Konan. It had been a long time since he'd been alone. He reached into the cabinet and pulled out a box of black tea. It was far from the quality he'd grown up with but if he was being honest he'd rather have the cheap black tea here than still be back in his old house facing his father every day.

He filled a mug with water and stuck it in the microwave and leaned against the counter to wait. Madara didn't have a tea kettle. It was quiet in the apartment but the sounds of the city outside were tempting. There was also the faint sound of thumps below the kitchen he'd heard before but still had no idea what they were.

The beeping of the microwave pulled him away from his thoughts and he quickly took the mug out and dropped in the tea bag. He picked up the mug and walked to the table and sat down. Thoughts about his nightmares started to trickle back as he stared out the window at the busy street. He's not alive, he's not coming back, and he can't hurt you. Itachi closed his eyes and tried to forget but all he succeeded in doing was watching his nightmare over and over again.

A loud bang echoed throughout the empty apartment making Itachi jump up from his chair. He whipped around to look in the direction of the front door, breathing heavily.

"Did someone come in?" an unfamiliar voice asked over his shoulder.

Itachi whipped around and did the first thing he could think of and hit whoever was standing behind him as hard as he could.

"Ah shit!" a boy who looked around his age stumbled back holding the center of his face. He quickly turned around and leaned over the sink as a waterfall of blood poured out of his nose.

"Who are you?" Itachi asked, adrenaline still pumping through his veins.

The figure laughed, "Man you hit really hard." the paused, "Though I guess I deserved that." He turned on the faucet and splashed water on his face.

"Who the hell are you?" Itachi repeated, noting how casually this other person was acting and how comfortable they were in Madara's apartment.

"My dad told me Madara had something for me to do, but the note he left on the door just says 'have a nice day'". The other figure showed Itachi a crumpled up piece of paper that was now spotted with blood.

"That's… odd." Itachi replied giving the figure a suspicious look. He had the feeling that whoever this was was telling the truth.

"Of course!" the figure smacked himself on the forehead, "you wouldn't remember me because you weren't awake!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"I was helping Konan take care of you. I'm not sure why but Madara didn't want me there if you were conscious." He held out a hand, "My name is Shisui."

Itachi looked him up and down. He was slightly shorter than Shisui. He had short wavy hair that looked like it needed a haircut and his eyes were almost black but somehow still looked open and friendly. Itachi noticed that for some reason Shisui was wearing a long sleeve shirt with shorts in the middle of June.

He tentatively shook Shisui's hand, something about this seemed like another one of Madara's plans to fix him and make sure he "wasn't a danger to himself", an actual quote from Madara not a week ago.

"I'm Itachi, but I guess you already knew that." He looked into Shisui's eyes, trying to see if he was hiding anything.

"Nice to see you awake finally." Shisui smiled again, "Did Madara leave any coffee this morning?" he glanced around Itachi at the mug filled to the brim with black tea.

"Not that I know…" Itachi moved to sit down, his knee feeling sore after all the surprise movements.

"So, what did you want to do today?" Shisui asked, pouring coffee grounds into the coffee maker.

Itachi paused, he didn't do much. Normally when someone else was there they either ignored him or were asking him prying questions about his past, "I was just gonna read…"

"Boring!" Shisui announced grabbing a mug from the shelf that had the Mist City Police department logo on it, "when was the last time you went outside?"

There was an awkward pause, "I don't remember…"

"You're kidding."

"No." Itachi took a sip of tea, "Konan said I shouldn't wander around until my knee is better."

"But don't you want to see the city?" Shisui asked.

"Of course I do! But I don't want to…"

"Screw them." Shisui said taking a cautious sip of steaming coffee, "You won't be alone. I can't let you be a shut in forever."

"But…"

"No excuses. Fresh air is more healing than medicine anyways."

Itachi's heart skipped a beat, he'd finally get to see the city he could only hear for a month. A sudden thought occurred to him, "uhm… These are the only clothes I have…"

Shisui raised his eyebrows, "I'm guessing you're not kidding about that either…"

Itachi shook his head, "I don't know what happened to all my stuff." He looked down and stared at his reflection on the dark surface of his tea.

"In that case, I'll be back in about twenty minutes with something for you to change into." Shisui sighed and put his mug back onto the counter.

"It's ok, you don't have to…"

"Itachi. You aren't wearing Madara's old clothes outside of this apartment." Shisui looked at him with a serious expression.

"O-ok."

"Be back soon!" he waved and headed out the door.

Itachi stared after him, he knew this was just another one of Madara's plans to get him to be more comfortable or something like that. A flicker of annoyance flashed across his face. Why couldn't Madara just leave him alone? Because you're mentally unstable, his brain automatically replied.

He finished his tea and stared out the window, if he had to be with someone constantly maybe it wouldn't be so bad if they went outside.

Twenty minutes went by and the door opened again and Shisui returned with a brown paper bag and another coffee. "I hope the shoes fit, everything else should though." He tossed the bag onto the table.

"Thanks" Itachi replied peeking into the bag. He stood and pulled the clothes out and walked to the stairs.

When he got back to his room he looked at what Shisui bought: Black jeans, so far so good. A light blue t shirt caught his eye. It was just a plain shirt but the color made his heart ache, the brightness of the blue, and memories of Minato broke into his mind. He could feel the liquid sadness dripping down his face and onto the floor. He stood there for a minute just holding the shirt. He hadn't realized that in everything that had happened since that day there hadn't been time to even think about Minato.

He felt himself start to lose balance and he managed to get to the chair before he fell over. As he stared at the shirt he wondered how Naruto was, who did he blame for not having parents anymore? Would he ever be the happy and smiling kid he'd been before? Was he just another person who wrongly fell victim to his father's calm and deadly control?

A loud knock made his head snap away from the t shirt. "Itachi? You almost ready? Day's not getting any longer." Shisui's voice filtered in under the door.

"Y-yeah," Itachi stood and quickly finished pulling on the new clothes. He left his hair down since he didn't have anything to pull it back with and rubbed the tears out of his eyes. As he walked to the door he saw his reflection; blue wasn't exactly his color. He sighed and opened the door to leave his room.

He and Shisui headed out the door and down a rickety staircase in a dark hallway that opened up into a space with two doors. Itachi's eyes lingered on the door to the left, something about it seemed eerie and unsettling. The paint was cracked and peeling and he could have sworn that in the dim lighting he could see a dark stain on the frame that looked suspiciously like dried blood.

"That's just the basement." Shisui broke the silence. "It's only storage and stuff." He motioned toward the door on the right, "This way."

Shisui opened the door and light flooded into the room. They stepped through and Itachi found himself in a small boxing gym: it had a ring in the middle of the room and various punching bags and weights around along the walls. There were a few people working out, but aside from them the room had a lonely feel.

They walked to the front of the room where a man with short black spiky hair and an eye patch was sitting with his feet up on the desk.

"Dad!" Shisui waved, "We'll be back later, and if you see Madara let him know I'll have Itachi back tonight."

The man nodded, "Be back before dark, it's Tuesday so we'll need you here."

"Alright!" Shisui opened the door and let Itachi walk through first, "Bye!"

As soon as Itachi stepped outside he was hit with a sensation he'd never experienced before: he felt small. It was like he'd stepped into the largest and fastest river he could imagine, cars were going by in an almost constant stream, people were all over the sidewalks pushing and shoving to get past, and a strong sulphorous smell mixed with sweat and a faint hint of rain on concrete. There was a dull roar that never stopped humming in the background under the sounds of cars and the faint ringing of bells.

Shisui appeared at his side, "Amazing isn't it? I've lived here my whole life and it still takes my breath away." He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

Itachi was quiet, still processing all of the madness that he was standing in the middle of. "Where's everyone going?" he asked out loud.

Shisui laughed, "Anywhere and everywhere and no one cares about where that is for anyone else." He glanced at Itachi, "Madara told me you're from a really small town, I know it's overwhelming now but there's a lot of comfort in the anonymity of the city. Anyways, we didn't come outside to stand on the sidewalk. There's a place I want to take you that I think you might like. Just stay close." He said and started walking into the crowd.

They wove between people on the crowded sidewalk and headed down the street. Itachi tried not to stare at the chaotic jumble of storefronts and long empty alleyways that he was passing. About ten minutes of walking later they approached a large open grassy space dotted with trees. A small path wound around the park and in the center was a fountain surrounded by small tables.

"We're here." Shisui announced, pausing at the start of the path.

"A park?" Itachi asked, raising an eyebrow, his knee was starting to get sore from all the walking.

"Yeah," Shisui pointed toward the fountain, "That's what we're really aiming for though."

Itachi nodded and followed Shisui up the path to the fountain. It felt strange to him that there were small pieces of the city cut out to be parks in the middle of tall buildings and bustling traffic. Not that he was unfamiliar with parks, but Konoha had trees along it's sidewalks and lawns with grass, not pavement and buildings as far as the eye could see.

"Sit here. I'll be right back." Shisui said motioning at one of the tables.

Itachi pulled out a chair and slowly sat down, extending his leg out to stretch his knee. As he sat alone he could feel himself starting to relax: the warm sun hitting his face, a cool breeze blowing through his hair, and a very faint smell of… something? He couldn't put his finger on it but whatever the smell was he'd never experienced it before.

He leaned his head back letting his surroundings release the tension in his shoulders. His mind drifted back to Minato. He wished that his friend could be here safely away from Konoha and all the violence there. A disturbing thought wormed its way into the back of his mind: If it hadn't been for what happened to Minato, he would still be stuck with his father in Konoha. He pushed the thought away not bearing to think that the price for his safety had been the death of an innocent.

"Back!" Shisui placed a box and a paper bag on the table.

Itachi snapped back to reality, "What's that?" he asked, motioning to the box.

"This," Shisui emptied the contents of the box onto the table, "Is why we came here."

Itachi eyed the black and white chess pieces now rolling precariously across the checkerboard tabletop. "I haven't played much…" he started.

"That's ok, it's not a contest." Shisui smirked mischievously and started to set up the pieces, "It's just for fun."

A cold wind blew across the table and rustled the leaves on the trees, "If you say so." Itachi muttered, bringing a book would have been just as fun if not better. He set up his pieces and looked expectantly at Shisui.

"You can start." Shisui smiled.

Itachi narrowed his eyes and moved his first piece. He wasn't very good at chess and something told him that Shisui was about to beat him.

They played in silence for a while, staring at the board and each trying to find some advantage in the game when Itachi broke the silence. He was curious about this person who had just appeared in his life. "So, how do you know Madara?"

"Hmm?" Shisui looked up.

"Madara, how did you meet him."

"oh, he's friends with my dad." Shisui moved one of his pieces.

Itachi stared at the board, "so they always knew each other?" He glanced up at Shisui.

"If you'd like to know what my job is you can just ask." Shisui leaned his elbows on the table and looked at Itachi with a slightly amused expression.

The straightforwardness of the statement caught Itachi off guard and he ended up moving the first piece he saw to avoid the eye contact. There was a quiet laugh.

"Not a good move."

Itachi refocused on the board and saw that he'd just left his king completely exposed. He cursed himself inwardly.

"Checkmate." Shisui moved his rook into position and looked at Itachi.

"What?" he could feel annoyance building in his chest as he stared at Shisui's smug expression.

"Want to play again?"

Itachi hesitated, "sure…" It wasn't like he had anything else to do.

"Tell you what, I'll answer any questions you have with a yes or no." Shisui smirked, "But only when it's my turn to play."

Itachi's eyes lit up, he could finally get some sort of answers.

"But," Shisui paused for dramatic effect, "I get to do the same to you. I'll ask you questions as well while it's your move."

"Ok." Itachi nodded.

"You first." Shisui pointed at the board, "And my question is: were you born with those marks on your face?"

"No." Itachi moved his first piece quickly, "Does your dad only have one eye?"

Shisui raised an eyebrow and moved a piece, "No. That was your first question?"

"I was curious." Itachi shrugged.

"Ok… have you ever left home before?"

"Yes." Itachi replied, he felt his heart twinge with sadness. He took his time before moving his piece enjoying the break in the rapid-fire questions. He finally moved his knight. "Is Madara a criminal?"

Shisui was quiet for a really long time as he decided where to make his next move. "No," he slid his queen across a few squares and looked up at Itachi's doubtful expression.

"Are you telling the truth?" Itachi frowned.

"I believe it's my turn to ask a question." Shisui's mouth curved into a sideways smile, "the last time you left home, did you like it?'

Guilt twisted in Itachi's chest, "Yes." He answered quietly. He was reminded again that if he hadn't left home none of the nightmare that had been the last nine months of his life would have happened. He moved a pawn and leaned against the table thinking about his next question. "Madara… has he killed anyone?"

Shisui raised an eyebrow, "Yes."

Itachi's heart lurched, he wasn't sure why he was so surprised, killing used to be a major part of his life growing up, not that he'd liked it.

"Checkmate."

Itachi blinked in surprise then looked at the board to see Shisui's queen two squares away from his king and ready to strike.

"Itachi, I have a confession." Shisui leaned back and folded his arms across his chest.

Annoyed, Itachi looked up, "Yes?"

"I was the junior chess champion at my high school." The same mischievous smile as before appeared on Shisui's face, "you had no hope of winning from the start."

That smile was really starting to piss Itachi off. He scowled, "So why are we even playing?"

"For fun?" Though no one told me you were this competitive." Shisui laughed, "If they had I would have brought origami paper or something."

Itachi bristled, "Just because I'm competitive doesn't mean I can't handle losing."

"True, and it's probably helped you more than you even know." Shisui sighed then pulled over the paper bag, "I brought lunch if you want some."

A breeze swept through the park, "yeah… I probably should." Itachi sighed and felt his anger calming down, Shisui was annoying but not worth getting angry at. Shisui passed him a bottle of water and a sandwich wrapped in plastic, "thanks," he said quietly. Maybe it was better to be outside rather than in Madara's apartment all day.

.:.

"He's not back yet, it's almost dark outside." Madara paced in front of the windows in the Livingroom of his apartment.

"Calm down Madara, he's with Shisui he'll be fine." Shisui's dad was sitting on the sofa absently flipping through a book. "Besides you're starting to sound like a worrisome grandma."

Madara sighed, "It's just that he's not used to this and he's still working through a lot." He paused, "I also want to know why there's a mess of bloody towels in my kitchen."

"Now you sound more like yourself," Shisui's dad laughed, "Does he really read this stuff for fun?"

"He's incredibly intelligent, Obito. But my nephew, his father, didn't see it as something worth investing in."

"Fugaku?"

"Yes." Madara scowled, "The man who singlehandedly destroyed the Uchiha name and business with his own short-sighted thinking. Honestly what good did he think he was doing by crushing the psyche of his first born and pitting him against his little brother?"

"You've mentioned." Obito rolled his one eye, "Only a million times."

Madara ignored him and checked his watch, "Well, it's almost time. We better get downstairs."

Obito stood and adjusted his eyepatch, "good crowd tonight?"

"It's alright, one of my newer employees decided to sign up to just get some practice. I hope he does well."

"The blonde kid?" Obito raised an eyebrow

"Yeah, He's not bad just young and reckless." Madara laughed, "Not like we weren't at his age though."

They left the room and walked down the dark stairway. Madara could hear the crowd growing louder as they approached the door to the gym. They paused, "ready?" Madara asked, Obito nodded and Madara pulled the door open letting the lights and the smell of sweat and rubber mats hit them.

Obito headed to the center ring and climbed between the ropes. A hush fell over the crowd as he cleared his throat. "Welcome everyone to this week's fight night!" a loud cheer erupted around the room.

Madara pushed his way through the crowd to a small table in the back, "The usual." He nodded at a man with bright green eyes and hair pulled back into a tight ponytail holding a calculator.

"The odds are better if you go with last week's winner." The man scowled at Madara.

"Oh I'm sure, but I'll stick with the underdog." Madara smirked then kept walking until he saw Konan leaning against the wall looking bored. "Hey." He nodded at her.

Konan blinked a few times then noticed Madara, "Oh, hey." She frowned, "I thought Itachi was going to come with you today?" her face shifted from boredom to curiosity.

"He's… not here at the moment." Madara's shifted away from Konan's intense gaze.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Shisui decided to take him to see the city a bit." Madara felt the annoyance radiating off Konan.

"He can't walk that much yet! Ugh, You people need to stop pretending you're ok!" she punched the wall behind her, "Shisui should know better."

"Yes, but he also knows some things medicine and physical therapy can't fix." Madara leaned against the wall and folded his arms, "Anyways, see any good prospects?"

"Yeah." Konan leaned against the wall again, "There's gonna be some good fights with the matchups you planned. I'm not sure about that new guy though."

"He just needs experience."

"I don't know, there's something about the way he moves, I don't really know the word to describe it except for purposefully reckless? It's almost like he's trying too hard to hide any weaknesses." Konan glanced sideways at Madara, "he's been with us for a month and it hasn't changed."

"Interesting observation, I'll keep an eye open for it." Madara nodded.

There was a loud clang as the first fight started and the two opponents started to size each other up. It took a few rounds before they started to actually go on the offensive. One of the fighters took a punch straight to the jaw and was knocked unconscious. The crowd roared.

"Well, that's my cue." Konan stood and picked up a toolbox and headed for the center ring.

At that moment the front door opening caught Madara's eye and he saw Shisui and Itachi step inside. Something looked different about his great nephew now, almost as if he wasn't as weighed down with as much care as before.

They walked closer to where Madara was, keeping to the edge of the crowd along the wall. They were about to go past when Madara cleared his throat, "You're back late."

Shisui almost jumped through the roof, "Aah!" Then realization dawned on his face, "Dammit Madara, don't scare me like that!" he cast an annoyed glance at Madara who was laughing to himself.

"Seems appropriate since you decided to do whatever you wanted today when Itachi knows he should be resting." He raised an eyebrow at the two of them.

Itachi looked at the floor remembering Shisui's words that Madara had killed people before. His eyes switched from the floor to the ceiling, then settled on a patch of wall. He tried his best to look anywhere except at Madara.

"Konan was fairly upset." Madara shifted his position, "I would avoid her for a little bit if I were you. But," he paused, "while I agree with her prescriptions. In this circumstance I think going against it was more beneficial." He smiled sideways.

"Sorry we're back so late, though." Shisui looked uncomfortable, "we got talking and time just slipped away."

"You're fine. But you should get upstairs Itachi, you need to balance out that much activity with rest." Madara looked at Itachi who was still doing everything possible to avoid eye contact.

"Ok…" Itachi answered.

The crowd roared again in the background and they all looked up at the ring in time to see one of the fighters get flipped and thrown.

"What is this?" Itachi asked. He hadn't seen a fight in a long time. He was surprised how interesting it was to watch when he knew it wasn't a life or death situation. He kept staring at the two figures locked in a rhythmic cyclical struggle, coming together and then separating not knowing who would come out victorious. There was a small pang of sadness in his heart: he'd never know that feeling, to not fight for his life, to know that whoever his opponent was wouldn't go too far, and that at the end he could walk away and still be himself.

"Itachi?"

A distant voice dragged Itachi away from his thoughts and he shook his head, "Sorry, I got distracted."

"Every Tuesday we have fight night," Madara answered calmly, "it helps fund the boxing gym."

"Oh," Itachi nodded, his eyes drifting back up to the center ring.

"It's late, you should get rest. Next week you can see the whole thing from start to finish if you'd like." Madara looked over the crowd to see where Konan was, "But unless you want another lecture, I would head upstairs and avoid Konan."

"See you later," Shisui waved and led Itachi through the crowd to the door. "I have to leave you here, my dad's going to need help." He paused in front of the door. "It was nice to meet you and I hope I can show you more of the city next time."

"Yeah, thanks." Itachi looked back at the crowd, "It was nice seeing the outside again and… thanks for the clothes."

"Don't mention it," Shisui laughed.

Itachi felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth, "Maybe we'll run into each other again?"

"Yeah, just don't punch me in the face next time."

"I'll try not to, but if you sneak up on me again then you get what you deserve." Itachi half smiled and opened the door to the hallway.

"Goodnight!" Shisui yelled back over his shoulder and melted into the crowd.

The musty smell of the hallway hit Itachi's face as he entered and closed the door behind him. He was about to go upstairs when the other door caught his eye again. This time he examined it closer, the dark blotch was definitely a blood stain. Itachi narrowed his eyes and tried the door knob but it was locked. He sighed, it was probably nothing. It was just a creepy door in a creepy hallway, there was nothing strange about that. He walked back to the stairs and slowly began his ascent to the second floor.

When he got to his room he realized how tired he actually was. The day had been long and a welcome break from his tedious and exhausting talks with Konan about his family and his past. He pulled on his athletic shorts and folded his new jeans carefully. He was about to take off the blue shirt but reconsidered and climbed into bed.

He saw the streetlight glint off a cup of water on the window sill and saw the pill bottle next to it, His chest twisted. It might work again if he tried them for a full night. He sat up and opened the bottle and took out one of the small white pills. He rested it on his tongue and downed the entire glass of water, then lay back down. His eyes started to grow heavy and before he even knew what was happening he was deep in a dreamless sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

"Augh!" Orochimaru slammed his head onto his desk. It had been three hours since he'd started this equation and it still wasn't working. The dark walls of his room felt suffocating. Normally he enjoyed the atmosphere they created, but not today.

"There's too many variables, too much I can't control…" He leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "I need more data." He stood and started pacing around the room, there had to be somewhere he could find out… He froze, "Kabuto!" It was silent for a few seconds then there was a quiet knock on the door. "Come in." Orochimaru muttered, clearing some space off his cluttered desk.

The door opened and Kabuto walked in, "You need something, Oro?"

"Look at that equation and tell me what's missing." Orochimaru gestured at a piece of paper covered in scribbles that lay on his desk.

"Sure." Kabuto crossed the room and scanned the paper. "It looks like you need some sort of controlled variable. If you want this transfer to work there needs to be some sort of commonality between the two subjects…wait, what's this?" he pointed to a small corner of the paper, "This isn't part of the original formula."

"No, I added it." Orochimaru looked away.

"This looks like…" Kabuto hesitated and his face looked uncertain, "I don't like this."

"You don't have to like it Kabuto. You're not the one doing it." he scowled, "I know those eyes have secrets and are filled with untapped potential, they have to be fully unleashed before I can have them or they will never be what they could be. As much as I need that power, I'll never have the genetics to unlock it myself."

Kabuto sighed, he was used to hearing this by now, "Where are you going to get the data to make this work? Sasuke isn't going to…"

"You know where." Orochimaru interrupted and leaned against the door to the hallway.

"Oh." Kabuto sighed, "It won't be easy, you'll have to find him first." He put the paper down and leaned against the edge of the desk.

"Yes. And Sasuke can't know or he'll just get in the way." Orochimaru leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling, "Any ideas?"

"Money." Kabuto crossed his arms.

"Paying him won't make him cooperative or come out of hiding." Orochimaru glared at Kabuto.

"Not him, but there are small local gangs all over the place and they all work on the same network. We post a reward and let them do the work for us."

"We don't even know if he's in the same country anymore. Plus we can't afford anything that extravagant."

"When did you last see him?" Kabuto raised an eyebrow.

"It was that night, I saw him walking home when that blonde guy stopped him." Orochimaru furrowed his brow.

"Hold on." Kabuto turned around and opened Oro's laptop, "What was the name of that relative Sasuke keeps whining about?"

"Madara." Oro walked over to see what Kabuto was doing.

Kabuto quickly typed the name into a search. "He can't not exist, everyone leaves a trail of information where they live." They both stared at the screen until the search ended. The words "0 results found" flashed across the screen.

"He's good." Orochimaru muttered and started pacing again.

"Do you think Madara has the same eyes?" Kabuto sighed and leaned against the desk again.

Orochimaru froze, "Yes! It's genetic!" realization dawned on his face, "Kabuto, do you know what this means?"

"They're related?" Kabuto rolled his eyes.

"No! Well… yes, but do you remember what the first part of the sharingan I researched was?" he rushed over to his computer and started scrolling through folders of research, "These special traits vary by region! And given what we know about Uchiha family history, they moved to Konoha about the same time as the Yakushi."

"Then Konoha isn't the region where the sharingan originated…" Kabuto's eyes widened.

"Exactly!" Orochimaru rushed to his bookshelf and pulled out a thick leather bound volume. He ran back to his desk and plunked it down with a dusty thud. "Now we can assume that neither Sasuke nor Itachi knows about this since their dad probably restricted the information for the sake of confidentiality."

"Then how will you find it?" Kabuto looked at Oro quizzically.

"I have my ways." Orochimaru flipped through the old book frantically. "There!" he opened to a page with a map that was covered in colored splotches, "This is the original document showing the types of special family traits from back in history."

"The red one, that's them." Kabuto pointed to a small corner.

"Yes, and that is right in modern day…" he held the book up to a map on his computer, "Mist City."

"Then that's where we'll start." Kabuto leaned in to look closer.

"Yes. But first we need a bargaining chip, we need money and all the information we can gather on that area and what's happening right now. Let's see if we can find any potential enemies of the Uchiha." Orochimaru's face twisted into an evil grin.

.:.

Itachi walked slowly from the kitchen to the small living room space in Madara's apartment with a mug of tea. The hot liquid was almost right at the rim of the mug and he didn't want to lose any to spilling, it was hard enough to get tea here anyways since everyone drank so much coffee. He walked to the oversized sofa and sat in one corner placing his mug gently on an end table next to the copy of "Crime and Punishment" Madara had given him. Since he'd started reading "Game of Thrones" it wasn't exactly what he wanted to read, but books were books and he was glad to have them.

He sighed and picked up the heavy volume and flipped it open to his book mark. As he started reading he pulled his feet up onto the sofa so he could sit cross legged. He felt himself start to slip into the words and get absorbed into the pages. He lost track of time and soon his mug was empty and his eyelids had grown heavy. He was just starting to doze off when a voice shattered his calm.

"Hey."

Itachi's eyes snapped open and he looked up to see Madara standing in front of him with his arms crossed. He blinked a few times to clear his head, "yes?"

"I need you to come with me to the store." Madara said.

Itachi glanced sideways, he hadn't seen Madara very much since he'd woken up not stuck with needles and strapped to a bed and he was still wary of his presence. "Can't you go alone?" He didn't want to sound rude, but he didn't exactly want to go either.

"Obito usually goes with me but he's busy today. I don't like shopping alone." He walked to the front door and dropped Itachi's shoes at his feet. "Besides, you can start to see Mist city."

Itachi sighed then started pulling on his shoes, it was best not to piss off the one person you had to share living space with. If that meant spending "quality bonding time" with Madara, then that's what he had to do. "ok." He stood up slowly, his knee was still healing. Apparently he'd torn something badly in the joint and he still had to have it bandaged.

"Good, it shouldn't take too long. Just two places to stop by today and then you can get back to reading." Madara walked toward the door with Itachi behind him.

They went down a flight of creaky wooden steps and out the door at the old door at the bottom. They walked through the boxing gym, the smell of old mats and sweat filling the entire room. As they passed the front desk a kid who looked just slightly older than Itachi with orange hair and a face covered in black piercings looked up from a computer.

"Quiet day?" Madara paused in front of the kid.

"You could say that." He sighed and looked past Madara, "who's that?"

"Pain, this is my great nephew Itachi. Itachi, this is Pain." Madara stepped to the side so Pain could see Itachi.

"Nice to meet you," Pain said and offered his hand.

"Same," Itachi shook his hand, but there was something about the look in his eyes that was unsettling. The lilac colored irises stared back at him as if they were sizing him up and trying to figure out all his weaknesses.

"I'll be back later." Madara interrupted the awkward silence, "try not to burn the building down while I'm gone."

"I'm not the one you should warn about that." Pain smirked and turned back to his computer.

Madara turned and walked to the front door with Itachi trailing along behind him. As soon as they exited the early summer sun beat down. Madara sighed, "This summer is going to be a hot one."

Itachi nodded, trying not to breathe hard as the sun soaked into his black t-shirt. He followed Madara around the side of the building to an old black car and waited by the passenger side until Madara unlocked it. As he climbed in to the front seat he glanced back and noticed the back was dirty and there were round circle stains that were suspiciously the color of dried blood.

"It's your blood." Madara calmly stated as he started the car and backed up out of the alleyway. "And all the dirt is your fault too." He turned into the city traffic and started driving down the road weaving between cars.

Itachi gripped the door until his knuckles turned white. Konan wasn't lying about Madara's driving. He squeezed his eyes shut as they zoomed through a red light. "How could it be mine? I've never been in this car before." He managed to get out.

Madara snorted, "You wouldn't remember because you were unconscious. How do you think you got here in the first place?"

The car took another sharp turn and Itachi clung to the door handle to try and stay in his seat. He'd heard Konan mention it once but hadn't thought much about it. "You couldn't think of a better way than throwing me in the back seat of your car?" Itachi tried his best to sound like he wasn't interested.

"Considering the circumstances, I was working with what I had." Madara laughed. "But you're in the front seat now, that's what matters."

Itachi ignored the last comment and stared out the window at the passing buildings. The city was massive, larger than he expected, and the more he saw of it the more diverse it became. He wondered what Madara's connection to it all was. What made this place home for his strange great uncle? He sighed and leaned back in the front seat.

"Shisui has been showing you around hasn't he?" Madara asked.

"Yeah, just places within walking distance." Itachi stared vacantly out the windshield.

Madara took a corner too fast and the tires squealed against the pavement, "have you liked it so far?" his voice stayed calm as he slammed on the breaks behind another car.

"I guess." Itachi instinctively grabbed the door as the bumper of the car in front of them got dangerously close.

"Once you're all fine you can start to look around yourself and really experience the city. Also when you're working, you'll get to know it pretty fast." Madara turned into a parking lot in front of a large supermarket and pulled into the first open spot he saw.

Itachi squeezed his eyes shut and grabbed the door handle as the fence in front of the parking spot zoomed toward them. "If I survive." He whispered through gritted teeth.

"What was that?" Madara glanced over as he took the key out of the ignition.

"Nothing." Itachi took in a deep breath and tried to calm himself down in the unmoving car.

Madara stepped out of the car and waited for Itachi to do the same. "Come on, we're running low on coffee and Konan will kill me if I don't get more before the next meeting."

They walked through the parking lot until they reached the automatic sliding door to enter the grocery store. As they entered the smell of moist vegetables and air conditioning hit their faces. Madara grabbed a shopping cart and headed down on of the aisles. As they walked Madara grabbed boxes off shelves and threw them into the cart.

Itachi sighed and trailed along behind Madara. The store was bigger than the one in Konoha and had a lot more variety of foods. As he walked he noticed Madara was acting different: he was making eye contact with almost everyone that walked by and either nodding in their direction or half-smiling at them. For a person who he thought was incredibly private and guarded he was acting very open and almost friendly.

A small older woman in a flower dress walked past and paused, "Oh! Mr. Uchiha, it's been a while since you've been around."

"Please Marylyn, call me Madara." He smiled warmly at her and paused in front of a shelf of canned soup.

"Oh you know I could never." The woman laughed, "Any business partner of my husband's should be addressed like a business partner."

"I would hope that you also consider me a friend?" Madara leaned against his cart, "How has your shop been doing?"

"Oh wonderfully! It's been doing splendid." She peeked around his large frame, "Who's this?"

Madara glanced back, "Oh forgive me Marylyn, this is my great-nephew he's staying with me for a little while."

"Pleased to meet you," She nodded at Itachi, "your great-uncle has been nothing but helpful and charming. Learn a thing or two from him." She winked at him then turned back to Madara, "Don't be a stranger, my husband would love to see you stop by the shop some time."

"It would be an honor, Marylyn." Madara smiled. "Unfortunately I have a few errands to run today and I must get going, but tell your husband I say hello."

"I will, good bye now!" Marylyn waved goodbye and continued down the aisle.

Itachi stared quizzically at Madara who grabbed a few cans off the shelf and added them to the cart. Who exactly was his great uncle? Had that woman mistaken him for someone else? His polite and happy twin perhaps? The thoughts kept popping up and buzzing around his head that he didn't notice that Madara had kept moving and apparently switched aisles leaving him standing alone, mouth open, in front of a shelf of chicken noodle soup cans.

He blinked and glanced around: Madara was nowhere to be seen. He felt a small panic rise up in his chest at the thought of being left alone in a place he didn't know. He quickly ran to the end of the aisle and looked both ways, still not seeing the hulking mass of his great uncle anywhere.

"Hey! Itachi!" A loud voice permeated the buzz of the grocery store.

Itachi whipped around and saw Madara a few aisles down waving. He sighed and walked over slowly, feeling the soreness in his knee. As he walked past a refrigerator of cheese he saw someone staring at him out of the corner of his eye. Great, he thought, I get to be a grown man who loses someone in the store and freaks out like a little kid. He looked at the floor and walked faster.

"Fall asleep?" Madara smirked and threw a bag of chips into the cart.

"I must have been dreaming because I swear someone called you 'Mr. Uchiha'" Itachi retorted and folded his arms across his chest. He could feel his face getting red from having to be called over like a lost child.

"Marylyn?" Madara looked a little surprised, "Her husband took a loan out from me to start his wine import shop a few years ago. Lovely couple, I should have them over for dinner some time." Madara grabbed a box of crackers and threw it into the cart. He felt Itachi staring at him and turned slowly to see the most incredulous face Itachi could make. "Is there a problem?"

"You… what?"

"Itachi what is it exactly that you think I do?" Madara looked at him questioningly. His nephew stared at the floor, clearly uncomfortable sharing his thoughts. "What, do you think I murder people for fun? Beat up innocent citizens because I can? Steal candy from babies because I'm bored?"

"N-no…" Itachi stared at the shelves of pre-packaged foods. In all honesty he thought Madara just sat in his dark study and planned the crime of the century. "I just… didn't know you knew so many people."

"Contrary to what you might have heard from…other sources, I have my own business and it does not involve ripping people off and making their lives miserable." He continued down the aisle back towards the front of the store.

Itachi trailed behind him and shoved his hands into his pockets, It wasn't that he thought Madara did exactly what his father did, he just thought he was always terrifying, imposing, and generally rude to everyone.

Madara paused in front of a section of the aisle devoted to exotic coffee blends, "is there anything you want?" he picked up a small bag of coffee and started reading the back. Madara glanced over and saw Itachi's eyes wandering over to the boxes of tea, "It doesn't have to be coffee…"

Itachi wandered over to the shelves of tea leaves and boxes of pre-bagged tea. His eyes scanned the different brands and flavors but nothing stuck out. He sighed, the only thing he missed about Konoha was the tea shop and the quality of the leaves, the friendly shop owner, what was his name… his mind wandered as he stared intently at a row of boxes. Iruka, the name clicked. It was odd thinking about how much better the lives of the Konoha citizens probably were now because of the fall of the Uchiha. Maybe they were happier? More prosperous? Certainly more safe.

A hand reached over and took one of the boxes of tea he was looking at, "Is this the kind you like?"

Itachi blinked and saw Madara staring at him. "Yeah." What did he just ask? Why was Madara staring at him?

"Itachi, are you feeling ok? You seem to be… zoning out more than usual." Madara tossed the box of tea into the cart and turned back to face Itachi.

"I'm fine." Itachi shook his head, "just tired. It's been a long day." He walked over and glanced down into the cart, "Are you almost done?"

"Here yes." Madara started walking to the end of the aisle and looking for a checkout line that wasn't too long.

"What do you mean here?" Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"I have one more stop before heading back."

"Do you have to drive there?"

"yes."

Itachi's stomach turned at the thought of another trip with Madara's driving. "Oh." He glanced at the man in the black t shirt standing in front of them in line, "Any chance you could skip it today? For my health?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Madara leaned on the cart and let his eyes drift down the rack of magazines, "Ugh, this society fills itself with lies and trash articles about popstars and worthless politicians." He glared at the back in front of him.

"Nothing." Itachi glanced over at a copy of the National Enquirer with the headline "Woman Gives Birth to a Murder of Crows."

The line moved forward and the man ahead started piling groceries on the conveyer belt. Madara looked down at it and his face turned into a snarl, "hey, this is an express lane, 18 items or less."

The man turned around with an unamused expression, "Back off asshole. Who do you think you are anyways?"

A silent chill fell over the front of the store. Madara just stared back his face unchanged, "Say that again and you won't live another day to even regret it."

The man stared back with an icy glare, "Is that a threat?"

"Madara!" The manager ran over, his striped tie flapping in the breeze, "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, Sakumo, nothing really. This man has decided that he can just do whatever he wants." He motioned at the man in the black t shirt who was still standing there glaring.

"Madara it's no big deal, just let it go." Itachi glanced at him sideways.

"stay out of this," the man in the black t-shirt glanced over. He paused for a second as if he was surprised then shook his head and turned back to Madara. "I'm almost done anyways."

"Sorry this happened Madara, is there anything I can do to make this right?" The manager looked from Madara to the stranger and then back to Madara.

"Haha not today, it's not your fault that some people are self-centered shit heads. But just between the two of us if I ever see his face again I'll tear his arms off." Madara smiled at the man in the black shirt.

Itachi unconsciously grabbed his shoulder, some things about Madara were actually true then. He was still aggressive, domineering, and scheming but there was something that just felt odd. Itachi couldn't quite put his finger on it; he watched as the man in the black t-shirt paid and picked up his bags. He eyes trailed back to the store manager. Why was it that everyone seemed to have this misplaced respect for his great uncle? Why did he matter so much to these random people?

Madara started to put his groceries on the conveyer belt but kept his eyes on the other man. His cold stare followed the black t-shirt to the automatic sliding doors and then into the parking lot. "I don't like him." He finally said placing the box of crackers down.

"No kidding." Itachi muttered and went to wait down at the other end of the checkout counter.

"Have you seen him before Sakumo?" Madara asked turning to glance at the manager who was starting to sweat profusely.

"N-no. But I don't get down to the floor very much these days." The manager fidgeted with his tie.

"Hmph," Madara grunted, "I get a bad feeling from him. He better not show his face in front of me again." He paid for his groceries and went to go pick up the bags, "I'll see you next week."

"Oh! Madara!" Sakumo seemed to have shaken off his nerves.

"Yeah?"

"Is Obito alright? He's not with you today…" he tilted his head questioningly

"He's dealing with some personal stuff today." Madara sighed and picked up the two overflowing plastic bags. "I'll tell him you said hello."

"Please do!" Sakumo waved and started walking away to check on the other registers.

The sky was just starting to turn a light orange when Madara and Itachi stepped outside. The day had really gone by too fast. Itachi breathed in the early summer evening air: it smelled different in the city. Konoha had been surrounded by forest and trees and the air was always fresh and pine-scented, almost sickeningly some days. But the city smelled different, slightly like cars and wide open spaces, the hint of someone's perfume or deodorant as the passed by, and something else. Itachi had tried to identify it but it still eluded him, the strange fresh undercurrent that drifted along everywhere he went.

They got to the car and put the bags in the back seat. Itachi slipped back into the front and stretched his leg out. His knee was sore after all that walking and standing and maybe just a little bit of tensing up when Madara had threatened that stranger. He fastened his seat belt and grabbed the door in preparation for the terrible driving that he knew was coming.

Madara opened the car door and slid into the driver's seat. "People are the worst, especially the ones that are new to the city." He slammed the door closed and jammed the key into the ignition. "They're a scourge on humanity."

"That's a bit dramatic don't you think?" Itachi glanced sideways, slightly regretting what he'd just said.

"Fine." Madara slammed the car into reverse, "I don't know about you, but there was something about that guy that I didn't like and I want to find out what it was." He slammed on the gas and sped out of the parking lot.

"Why? Because he didn't treat you like you were the king of the world?" I need to stop saying these things out loud, Itachi groaned inwardly.

A red light made Madara slam on the brakes, "as self-centered as you think I may be, I am referring to the fact that he had shifty eyes, a bad attitude, and had way too much interest in us for just a stranger." The light changed and he stomped on the gas, "maybe you didn't notice but he passed us at least five times in there and I know for a fact that it's not THAT small a store."

Itachi didn't respond. He hadn't noticed and for the life of him couldn't remember seeing that guy around at all. He decided to drop the issue and let an awkward silence grow between them. He was confused. Everything that he thought he knew about his great uncle had shifted in just a few hours and it was at the point where he just wasn't sure about anything anymore.

Twenty minutes of silence and terrorizing driving later Madara pulled to the side of the road in front of a small shop. He turned the car off and was about to step out when he paused, "You can wait in the car if you'd like, I won't take long."

Itachi nodded, as if he wanted to spend more time with Madara. He leaned back and watched his great uncle enter the store. Who was he? There was something more to him now that he was back in his own city. Almost like he'd totally hidden everything about himself when he'd stayed over.

The door to the shop opened a few minutes later and Madara came back outside with a small plastic bag. He climbed back into the car and put it in the back seat along with the other groceries. "Ready to head home?" he asked as he put the key back into the ignition.

"Hope I make it." Itachi groaned quietly and squeezed his eyes shut trying to ignore the lurching of the car as Madara turned back onto the road.

"Do you have a problem with something, Itachi?"

"Not if you keep your eyes on the road!" Itachi covered his face as the rear bumper of a car came dangerously close at high speed.

Madara laughed, "Does my driving bother you? Honestly, I drove you here from Konoha in one piece."

"I'm glad I was unconscious and half dead!" They took a corner and Itachi slid into the door. Even with a seat belt on it felt like he was on the world's fastest carnival ride.

"I'm glad you were too so I didn't have to listen to eight hours of complaining and sarcasm." Madara pulled into the alleyway next to the boxing gym. "But that's all in the past now." He smiled at Itachi.

Itachi stayed frozen in the front seat as Madara got out, getting used to what it felt like to be still again and trying to hold down whatever his carsickness was trying to make him vomit up. "You're like those old people who need to retake their driver's test."

"Did you just call me old?" Madara closed the back door to the car and looked across the front seat through the open window.

"No…?" Itachi looked away and unbuckled his seat belt.

"That's what I thought." Madara walked back towards the front of the boxing gym.

Itachi rolled his eyes and climbed out of the car, limping after Madara. He entered the boxing gym and was hit with the smell of sweat and suffocating heat. There were a few people here and there working out. A gray haired man in the corner was lifting weights except his face was almost entirely covered up, a woman with long wavy brown hair was in another corner using a punching bag, and two people were sparring in the center ring moving so fast he could barely distinguish any features.

He walked over to where Madara was standing next to the front desk talking to the same orange haired kid as before. The conversation halted as he stepped closer and he felt like he'd just interrupted something important. "I'll see you later…" Itachi moved towards the door uncomfortable in the silence.

"I'll be upstairs in a minute, Itachi." Madara called after him.

Itachi sighed and climbed the rickety stairs, ignoring the burning curiosity telling him to try and open that mysterious door. What had started out as a relaxing day had turned into a tense and awkward experience. What was he even doing here? Madara barely talked to him, he was exhausted just by walking and sometimes even just being awake was too much. What was the point of it all anyways?

He got to the second floor and opened the door heading straight for the kitchen. He grabbed a mug and reached for the box where the tea was kept. He lifted it up but it was annoyingly light. "Ugh," he tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling, "of course." He sighed and put the mug back then turned to go back to his book.

Madara appeared in the doorway with the grocery bags, "hey, don't go anywhere yet I have something for you." Itachi raised an eyebrow, but paused by the table. Madara put the bags down and pulled out the small plastic bag from the small store they'd stopped at and put it on the table. He motioned for Itachi to take it.

Itachi cautiously reached forward and pulled the bag over. When he opened it he saw a long white box inside; he glanced up at Madara uncertain then took the box out and lifted the lid. He almost dropped the box as a wave of emotion surged inside him.

"Look, I know you're figuring out a lot of things right now about what you went through and who you are but I thought it would be helpful if you held on to it." Madara's face was serious.

Itachi pulled his old necklace out of the box, the black cord with its three round silver beads. It was the shiniest he'd ever seen it since he'd first gotten it. "Where did you find it?" he asked his eyes shifting to look up at his great uncle.

"When I found you back in Konoha It was lying in the mud next to you, I would have missed it if the sun hadn't hit it just right. The latch had broken and part of the cord was snapped and fraying… Sorry it took so long to get it fixed." Madara looked away and started to pull the groceries out of their bags.

"Why?" Itachi held up the necklace by its cord, the bright sunset reflecting off of its silvery surface. "Why go through all that trouble?"

Madara paused, "because it's a part of you." He looked at Itachi, "I know as an Uchiha you were given that at a very young age. You probably didn't understand all the responsibility and work that went along with it, but it was yours by birth. It's been through generations, Itachi, generations of Uchiha have fought each other, hurt each other, and killed each other to have that necklace given to them. Maybe you hate your family, hell I hate them too, but you can't throw away every part of your past. When you take away everything else you're still an Uchiha and that will never change."

Itachi was quiet as he stared at the reflective surface, "Madara…"he paused, "did you ever have it?"

There was shuffling in the background as Madara started putting food away. A few minutes passed before he answered, "No."

"But you were older than my grandfather." Confusion crossed Itachi's face.

"Yes." Madara threw the extra plastic bags into a larger plastic he kept in the drawer, "When it came time for my father to choose between me and my brother, he chose Izuna because I was too volatile and unpredictable even though I was the oldest."

"How old were you?" Itachi looked at Madara and leaned against the table to take the weight off his bad knee.

"When he chose I was 18."

"He waited that long?"

Madara turned to face Itachi and leaned against the counter, he had a sad smile on his face, "I was told my whole childhood that I would lead our family. My dad would take me into his office and show me how to run things, he would take me into the backyard and showed me how to kill a man different ways. While other kids played catch with their dad's at family picnics he was showing me how to make poison tasteless and odorless. My body was made resistant to multiple drugs and knockout gases just in case I'd ever be in trouble. But when the time came all of the promises he made me, all of the flowery stories that he whispered to me turned out to be nothing but lies. Back when I moved in with you I said we were more similar than you knew. You're not the first person to get screwed over by the Uchiha. You're not the first monster they created just to toss to the side in favor of someone else."

"Then why should I wear this? Why should I constantly have the Uchiha legacy hanging around my neck?" Itachi scowled.

"Then get rid of it. Throw it away and move beyond your past. Forget Sasuke, forget Orochimaru and Kabuto, never use your sharingan, and make yourself into someone else." Madara walked over and put a hand on Itachi's shoulder, "Who we are is defined by our past as much as we hate it or not. But accepting the past and moving on doesn't mean you throw away everything. If you hated it as much as you think you do, would you still have worn that necklace every day? Even when your father wasn't around to see it?"

Itachi felt his chest tighten and a lump raise in his throat. The sun sank down between the buildings of Mist city, leaving only the faint traces of light reflecting off the clouds. The kitchen grew dark and the streetlights flicked on outside. Itachi felt something wet slide down his face and before he knew it a waterfall of tears escaped his eyes. His fist tightened around the necklace until his knuckles turned white.

He covered his face with his other arm trying to forget that Madara was standing right in front of him. He didn't know why he was crying; trying to figure it out was like trying to hold oil, vague thoughts of anger and sadness floated around in his mind along with moments of happy memories of growing up with Sasuke. He didn't notice himself falling forward, he didn't notice when his great uncle caught him before he fell, he didn't notice when his great uncle let him cry and wouldn't let him go.


End file.
